Swans 'humiliated' by Crows in SCG annihilation as season put on life support
Updated . First published at
The Adelaide Crows have dealt the Sydney Swans a crushing blow, handing the side a 90-point defeat in front of their home fans.
A horror showing at the SCG on Saturday night saw the Swans outplayed and their 2025 campaign put on life support, while the Crows consolidated their place in the league's top four, now with the competition's best percentage.
With the match largely played out in Adelaide's forward 50, Josh Rachele and Ben Keays starred with three majors each.
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The Swans look dejected as they come off at half time against the Crows. Mark Evans/AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Swans opened the scoring through key forward Hayden McLean, but that was where the celebrations ended for the Bloods as the Crows put on the next dozen goals.
With 12 unanswered goals through the first half, Adelaide had 10 different goal scorers as the entire team got in on the pile-on.
The effort marked the club's largest unanswered goal streak on the road since 2015.
At the half-time break, Sydney had one lone goal to its name as Adelaide led by 65 points. With the exception of COVID-restricted matches, the count marked the club's lowest half-time score ever.
"I haven't seen [the Swans] humiliated like this on their home deck," Melbourne great Garry Lyon said in commentary for Fox Footy.
With the opening goal of the third term, Will Hayward finally broke the deadlock for Sydney before Isaac Heeney made it back-to-back majors.
Ben Keays of the Crows gestures to the crowd as he celebrates kicking a goal against the Swans at the SCG. Darrian Traynor via Getty Images
But every attempt from the Swans to build momentum was stifled by the Crows' ball use.
Back-to-back 50m penalties resulted in sure goals for Adelaide as the Crows then mounted another eight-goal run.
The Swans were held goalless in the final term while the Crows finished the match with 14 individual goal kickers.
In alarming signs for the 2024 grand finalists, the Swans' record slumps to 4-8 this season, with two consecutive thrashings.
This is the side's worst start to the season since 2020.
With the win, the Crows broke the Swans' run of six-straight head-to-head wins, which dated back to 2019.
