Adelaide’s AFL finals drought is over, and defence has them set for success

If a week can be a long time in football, eight years can seem like an eternity.

That’s longer than the career of the average player, enough time for spectacular highs and dramatic lows to be etched into history.

Eight years ago, the Crows were on the top of the heap, set to sail into a new era of South Australian footy dominance. And then they weren’t.

Their 2017 season was exceptional, with a dynamic attack setting the league on fire. For all bar one week, the Crows would have been worthy premiers. But the grand final is the most important week in any season, and Richmond well and truly had the Crows’ number.

Still, most predicted that the Crows were set up for long-term success. Common logic suggested that the Crows would contend again in 2018. Instead, the wheels came off the bandwagon.

Adelaide has spent the last seven seasons outside of finals, the fifth-longest drought for a side following a grand final appearance in league history.

This spell includes the club’s first wooden spoon and a complete rebuild of the list. Just two players from that grand final remain — Taylor Walker and Rory Laird.

In that time, they’ve remade their game style, from being the most dynamic attacking team in recent years to the most hardened defensive unit. This year’s minor premiers have built their game on denying others room to work.

The Crows have been the best defensive team across the course of 2025 by almost any measure. Their defensive wall might just lead them back to the grand final.

Pressing, teamwork and pressure

Defence doesn’t just start close to the goal. Instead, it’s about how teams cohesively play together with the same objectives in mind.

If there’s a weakness in a side, it’ll be found out quickly.

The most impressive element of Adelaide’s defensive successes in 2025 is how complete they have been in almost every component.

This year has seen a real leap forward to an already solid group — one that has frustrated the other 17 teams in the league.

The foundations of Adelaide’s defensive strength are built on upfield pressure. The Crows have been — by a fair distance — the best side at preventing opposition sides from transitioning the ball up the ground into their scoring zone.

“We know we bring a really strong game when it comes to our transition and the way we defend,” Crows coach Matthew Nicks told Fox Sports during the week.

In the past five weeks, this pressure has built further. The Crows have further applied the clamps, and allowed opposition sides to score just 3 per cent of the time they win the ball inside the defensive 50.

That’s not just good enough to lead the league — that’s a historically strong number.

The Crows place furious tackle pressure on opposition sides, leading the league in tackles per opposition possession. This helps to spill the ball loose or force miskicks, which their upfield defence readily pounces upon.

Teams also struggle to hold onto the ball when playing Adelaide. Opposition sides also have a lower kick retention rate against Adelaide than against any other team.

The Crows are primed to either intercept cleanly in the air, or spoil to the deck where they can position for an easy intercept.

When the ball spills loose, Adelaide swoops in. No side has a better rate of winning contested ball around the ground in general play. That speaks to how well the Crows have taken to Nicks’ messaging and how well the side is working together.

This pressure and defensive ability up the ground has been significantly helped by those they brought in at the end of 2024.

Last off-season, Adelaide targeted a particular class of players. Instead of pure attacking weapons, the Crows looked for role players that could complement their existing squad and add a defensive edge to an already strong component of their game.

Into West Lakes came Alex Neal-Bullen, James Peatling and Isaac Cumming — three players with a reputation for running both ways. All three have contributed immediately.

“I can’t even remember having any conversations around what their expectations were with this club. It was more around my role within it and how they saw it,” Neal-Bullen said during the week.

“You walk into a new footy club a bit anxious. But since preseason and throughout the year, I think we’ve seen a group who value each other’s role, but also are keen to help each other grow week to week.”

The three new Crows have fit into a building group smoothly. They’ve missed just three games combined this year, and have delivered a solid sense of spacing and defensive discipline to complement an emerging attacking threat.

Their contribution to an improved midfield group has helped to focus on quality over quantity at stoppages.

As they often play with a spare in defence rather than at stoppages, the Crows have a below-average win rate from stoppages. However, when they do win stoppages, they make sure they hit the scoreboard — sitting near the top of the league for stoppage scoring differential.

When they do turn the ball over, sides are somewhat reluctant to transition quickly against the Crows in fear of their attacking weapons up forward.

If a side decides to pull the trigger on a quick counterattack, a mistake could leave their defence exposed one-on-one against Riley Thilthorpe, Taylor Walker, Darcy Fogarty or a host of dangerous small forwards.

Sides tend not to go through the corridor as much against the Crows, and struggle to find marks around the ground.

In short, it’s tough to go fast or slow against the Crows.

Adelaide Crows are defending deep

It doesn’t get much easier for teams when they can make it through the middle of the ground.

The Crows have been elite when defending inside their own 50 this year. Adelaide concedes the fewest shots when opposition sides go inside 50, and the fewest goals to boot.

The Crows’ backline isn’t crammed full of current or former All-Australians, nor those who came to the club with particularly high raps. Instead, it has been built on the back of hard work and the cohesion of a group that has grown together as a unit.

“There’s been a lot of talk — people said it’s a no-name backline. Then everyone sort of learned how good everyone is as the years go on,” defender Nick Murray said after their win over Hawthorn in round 21.

Of the seven defenders Adelaide picked in round 24, just two were selected in the national draft upon entering the league.

Only one of those two — Wayne Milera — was picked inside the first two rounds of the draft, and Milera has played most of his AFL footy up forward.

This unit has become far more than the sum of its parts.

“I just like to read the kicker’s cues, and I just felt like our defenders have been blocking out good all year. See, that was a great block by Buttsy (Jordon Butts) as well. They give me great confidence to go back at it,” Mark Keane told Fox Footy earlier this year after a match-saving mark in round nine’s Showdown against Port Adelaide.

That ability to sacrifice for each other has not only led to team success, but also some good individual numbers.

Keane and Josh Worrall lead the league in interceptions, but the defence doesn’t stop there. The entire group is balanced and multifaceted — filling roles as required. Some block opposition leads, others look to deny crumbers off spoils. Where there’s a quick transition, they are quick to fold back and rotate where needed.

Their defensive unit can also trigger counterattacks, providing flexibility when moving the ball up the ground. In short, the most under-recognised unit in the league might be the biggest key to their success.

Getting to the top of the AFL mountain

Adelaide’s path back to the grand final won’t be easy, even as minor premiers. They are likely to have to fight through three recent premiers to lift the flag.

It starts with Collingwood on Thursday night, who — despite defeating them in round 23 — they have struggled to beat in recent years.

“For us now (we are) looking forward to the challenge against the team who we’ve watched for the last few years … they’ve been to the top of the mountain,” Neal-Bullen said during the week.

The round 23 clash between the Pies and Crows saw one of the best — and most controversial — matches of the season.

The nailbiter was Adelaide’s first win over Collingwood in 11 matches. Notably, seven of their last eight match-ups have been decided by 10 points or less.

Collingwood — long the standard setter in 2025 before fading late — shares some similarities with the Crows.

They, too, are built on a solid defence and score heavily from intercepts. Like Adelaide, they are a top-two defensive team in 2025, but failed to have a single defender selected in the All-Australian side this year.

The key difference might be each side’s form coming into the finals. As the Crows have surged — winning nine straight — the Pies have faltered towards the finish. Collingwood comes into Thursday night’s qualifying final having lost five of their last seven matches.

There’s no better time for Adelaide to put the ghosts of 2017 to bed than right now.

ABC Sport will have live coverage of the AFL finals series. Follow the action on the ABC Sport live blog, or listen to the commentary online, or via the ABC Listen app.