The Serve

Adelaide will obliterate Hawks

I believe Hawthorn have been scarred beyond recovery by their heavy loss to Sydney will be put to sleep by the Crows on Saturday afternoon.

The problem with the Hawks line up is the fact they can extremely good, or extremely ordinary. Trent Croad’s concussion and Chance Bateman’s dodgy hamstring are significant.

Hawthorn certainly suffers at stoppages and clearances, which is quite paradoxical when you consider their midfield has the likes of Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge and Shane Crawford, arguably three of the finest individual midfielders in the game.

As a collective though, they struggle to perform at stoppages.

When teams play Adelaide they have to prepare themselves for a lockdown. The Crows strangle and suffocate, much like the Swans. They are masters of the stoppages and clearances, as well as controlling tempos.

The old hands are there: Ricciuto, McLeod is playing good footy, while Burton is back in touch. There’s a lot to like about the Crows. Neil Craig runs them like a military outfit. They play a highly disciplined, man-on-man game. They screw you down and don’t allow any run of the half back line. It’s a tough ask. Only hardened bodies and hardened minds prevail against Adelaide

I would be confident tipping on the Crows against the Hawks at any venue, but they have been helped significantly by being perched at Telstra Dome. This will cut down the ability of Hawthorn to run, like they would at the MCG.

I think Adelaide could obliterate the Hawks.