Melbourne have held off a fast-finishing Adelaide to complete an Adelaide Oval double with a 15-point victory on Thursday night.
The Demons, who beat the Power at the same venue five days ago, were in control for much of the night, but the Crows stormed home late to close to within three goals in the closing stages.
However, their momentum was stalled when their best player and captain Jordan Dawson was caught on the bench for six valuable minutes.
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He could be seen waving on the sidelines, desperate to get on the field and potentially lead his side to a comeback victory.
Channel 7 commentator Brian Taylor couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“How does this happen? With so many people on the bench to sort this out. How is your best player not on the ground at the most important time?” He said.
Former Geelong captain Joel Selwood said they simply had to find a way to get him on and called for the “closest guy to come off”.
“I’m staggered by this. It happens often and we talk about it all the time,” Taylor continued.
“The game is very professional yet the bench people can’t seem to sort it out. He has been off for five minutes. He is their most important player and they can’t get him on.
“Unbelievable. Inexplicable.”
When Dawson finally got back on, it was too late and the Dees held on for a deserved victory.
Christian Petracca was outstanding and Bayley Fritsch kicked three goals in the 10.18 (78) to 8.15 (63) triumph in the Gather Round opener.
It left the Crows’ season teetering on the brink with four straight losses ahead of a testing interstate trip to take on Carlton next week.
“I think with the evenness of the competition, 0-4 is absolutely panic stations,” Channel 7 commentator Dale Thomas said.
“Every game from here becomes season on the line for the next couple of weeks.”
Petracca finished with 29 disposals, eight clearances and a goal while midfield mates Tom Sparrow (20 touches, five clearances), Jack Viney (19, three) and Clayton Oliver (16, six) all had influence at different stages.
Back after just one week out with fractured ribs, key defender Steven May grimaced in pain after an early bump but did well to hold Crows spearhead Taylor Walker to one goal.
Adelaide’s Matt Crouch (29 disposals, five clearances), Mitch Hinge (24, four) and Soligo (27, seven) fought hard in a losing battle while Darcy Fogarty kicked two goals.
The Crows started brightly, dominating the clearance and territory battles in the first term, but their wastefulness in front of goal meant their lead was just five points at quarter-time.
Five consecutive Demons behinds tied the scores before Sparrow’s brilliant smother gave Petracca the chance to snap truly and break the goal drought.
In a tight affair, neither side managed consecutive goals until Kade Chandler, Pickett and Jacob van Rooyen struck in time-on of the second term to give Melbourne a 17-point halftime buffer.
It swelled to 33 points on the back of three goals from Fritsch in the third quarter, including one from a 50m penalty when opponent Patrick Parnell knocked the ball from his hands after a mark on the wing.
– With AAP