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- Aug 10, 2009
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Thursday 7:20 PM
Ladder leaders Adelaide is wary of a wounded Hawthorn ahead of Thursday night's fixture in the South Australian capital. The Crows will start warm favourites, but ruckman Sam Jacobs says they're on guard for the "dangerous" Hawks.
"You would be silly to write an Alastair Clarkson-coached team off," Jacobs said on Monday.
"They're the only team to beat Sydney in the last six weeks and as we know, Sydney are really starting to come now."
Hawthorn is 17th on the ladder, with just four wins, but key veterans Luke Hodge (groin) and Grant Birchall (knee) could return from a knee injury. "They have had an up and down season but at the same time they're recent champions of the League and have got some fantastic players," Jacobs said.
Adelaide have been posted as $1.08 favourites in the head to head betting with CrownBet and it is hard to make a case for Hawthorn, who have crumbled in season 2017.
After dominating the AFL landscape for the past five seasons, the Hawks have registered just four wins from 12 matches this year and a feature of a number of their losses have been the big margins.
Alistair Clarkson's side ventured to the Adelaide Oval as little as three weeks ago and were dismantled by Port Adelaide to the tune of 51 points. The Hawks recorded their lowest ever first half score that night, registering just three points until half time in that match.
They have since gone down to lowly Gold Coast by 15 points, before enjoying the bye in Round 13 and sit in unfamiilar territory in 17th position on the ladder.
Conversely, Adelaide are the ladder leaders with nine wins from their 12 matches to date and have regularly turned it on against interstate sides at the Adelaide Oval this year.
They have won six from seven at the venue in 2017 with those wins coming at an average margin of 51 points. Their most recent match was a 57-point drubbing of St Kilda in Round 12 before the bye last weekend. The only blotch on their record was a shock defeat at the hands of Melbourne in Round 8 by 41 points.
Hawthorn will need to ensure they come ready to play on Thursday and if they are ambushed early like they were against Port, it could be an ugly night. Hawks fans can head in with some optimism given that some of their stars are returning from injury, while their most recent win came interstate, a Round 10 against Sydney.
But the key stats point to Adelaide. The Crows are by far the competition’s best attacking side, while outside of the Brisbane Lions, the Hawks have conceded more than any other side. Look for Taylor Walker, Josh Jenkins and Eddie Betts to impact the scoreboard.
The Crows are also the highest ranked side for contested possessions, while the Hawks are last in this measure. Rory Sloane and the Crouch brothers will have plenty of influence against a Hawks midfield unit that, outside of Tom Mitchell, have struggled to win the footy. Mitchell looms as one of the keys for the Hawks, as does Ben McEvoy, who takes on Sam Jacobs in the ruck, while the visitors will need more from a host of others, including the former Crow, Jack Gunston, who kicked five against the Suns but has generally had a disappointing 2017 campaign.
TIP: Crows by 33 points
