33m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:40am
Crows vs Bulldogs live
3m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 9:09am
QT: The Bulldogs lead the Crows by four points
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Three straight to the Bulldogs and then straight to the Crows. Everything in between was pretty tight and tough.
It took a bit for the Crows to hit back as they did though because they looked overwhelmed by the Bulldogs in the opening stages. It has certainly been a tighter and more contested game so far than some others we have seen this season, not unlike Adelaide’s game against Collingwood last week.
Intriguing opening.
8m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 9:05am
Rory Laird looks like he’s done a calf
The Crows veteran has come to the bench and is pointing to the back his right calf when speaking to the doctors. He pulled up lame after taking a diving mark a few minutes ago.
Doesn’t look great, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
9m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 9:04am
Jake Soligo kicks a brilliant goal! Crows are back in town
Having shipped the first three, this is a great response from Adelaide. Nothing has been pretty, but they are now matching the Dogs in the contest and it’s showing on the scoreboard.
That was great from Soligo. He won the crumb in the pocket, shrugged a tackle while bursting through and snapped a ripper across his body.
14m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:59am
Taylor Walker with a bomb! Magnificent finish!
That is vintage Tex! From outside 50, tight to the boundary and on the wrong side for a right-footer, Walker has launched that and worked it back perfectly.
Great goal from Walker, but it hasn’t been all good from the veteran so far. Which leads me to…
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18m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:55am
Jordan Butts is a very unlikely goal-kicker for the Crows!
It’s his first ever goal in the AFL, and boy did the Crows need it!
Again, the umps are having a crack though. A crazy 50m penalty against Davidson, who just barely held onto Butts, kind of, almost, as he stood up after taking a mark. He didn’t move off the mark, he didn’t step over the mark, but he rested a hand on Butts’s arm and the umpire whistled him.
21m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:52am
Joel Freijah has another, and so do the Dogs!
Joel Freijah has had four shots on goal already for 2.2 and the Bulldogs are destroying them at the moment.
Really poor free kick there though. Peatling went to ground to win the ball on the deck and Freijah saw him coming, effectively kicking Peatling in the head while diving to win a free for contact below the knees. Bad call, big goal.
22m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:50am
Keeping an eye on the Adelaide Oval turf
Something I’ve noticed early is that there seems to be a lot of sand coming up in patches of the field at the moment. Like, when the ball bounces on the turf there is sand splashing up like it’s landed in a puddle.
Probably totally fine, but we’ll watch to see if it causes the players any issues.
24m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:48am
Joel Freijah makes it two for the Bulldogs
More disarray in the Crows’ backline, but the Bulldogs pressure is forcing errors. It was a team effort to force the Crows further and further back, before Freijah nailed the crucial final tackle and the goal.
The Bulldogs have started really quickly here, Crows adjusting to the pace and pressure.
27m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:45am
Oskar Baker does it all himself! Dogs have the first
Absolute shocker of a turnover from Nick Murray in his own backline, his squaring kick chopped off by Baker and knocked into space. Then Baker just outfought Jordan Butts over the loose ball, left him in his wake and goaled from the line.
Great start for the Doggies.
32m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:41am
Game on in Adelaide
Marcus Bontempelli claims the first clearance of the game to the surprise of absolutely nobody.
The McAndrew-English battle in the ruck will be interesting too. Crows will need their inexperienced big man to step it up another level tonight.
35m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:38am
Ready to go at Adelaide Oval
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The players are going through some final run throughs and warm ups with the opening ball up just a few minutes away.
Quite a few times already this season we’ve seen very high-scoring first quarters. Last night’s first term at the MCG was very open indeed, goals getting walked in at both ends. Will we see something similar tonight? There is certainly plenty of attacking talent out there, could be a big score incoming.
46m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:26am
Last time out for the Crows and Dogs
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Adelaide kicked off its season with an MCG win against Collingwood last Saturday night, the perfect way to begin its year-long response to September, 2025.
The Crows kicked ahead in a devastating third quarter and then held strong when it looked like the Pies were pushing in the last. Anyone expecting a slide down the ladder in 2026 looks like being disappointed.
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The Bulldogs might be the form side in the league right now, backing up an incredible win at the Gabba over Brisbane in Opening Round with a total domination of GWS at Docklands last week. Everything about the Bulldogs was humming in that one and at no point did they give the Giants a look-in.
Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton at one end, Riley Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty at the other. Marcus Bontempelli and Ed Richards in the guts for the Dogs against Jordan Dawson and Izak Rankine for the Crows.
Lots to look forward to.
57m agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:16am
Final teams: Crows forced into a late change
(AFL.com.au)
Adelaide has been forced to make a late change for this one as Hugh Bond is ill. He will be replaced in the 23 by Chayce Jones.
The only other Adelaide change from the win over Collingwood is Izak Rankine in for Toby Murray.
The Bulldogs have made one change from the win over the Giants, bringing in Jordan Croft for Will Lewis.
1h agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 8:05am
Izak Rankine makes his Crows return
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Tonight will be Izak Rankine’s first game for Adelaide since round 23 last year, after which he was handed a four-game suspension for using a homophobic slur during the game. That ban ruled Rankine out for the entirety of Adelaide’s finals campaign, which ultimately ended in a straight-sets exit.
Rankine, it is said, has done much work behind the scenes to regain trust and respect not only of his peers and teammates but of LGBTQ communities within the Adelaide fanbase and beyond.
His inclusion is a massive boost for the Crows as he is a quite sensational player in full fight.
1h agoFri 20 Mar 2026 at 7:58am
Welcome to Friday night footy
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Good evening and welcome to ABC Sport’s live blog coverage of the 2026 AFL season. We’ve got a good one tonight too, off to Adelaide for the first time this season as the Crows take on the Bulldogs.
These are two sides with eyes on the biggest prize this season and who are each coming off strong and impressive victories. Some of the best big forwards in the comp will be at either end for this one and some of the best midfielders will be running around too.
Big crowd expected at Adelaide Oval tonight, so keep the blog open and stick around so we can enjoy it all together.
