Adelaide had been waiting eight years for this moment. They thought they knew what to expect. But the lift in intensity and pressure still came as a shock in the Crows\u2019 first AFL final since 2017.<\/p>\n
The long journey back to the finals was capped off by sealing their spot as minor premiers. But after being outplayed \u2013 and arguably outsmarted \u2013 by Collingwood<\/a> in their qualifying final, Adelaide are at risk of becoming the first team for 42 years to finish on top of the ladder then be bundled out in straight sets.<\/p>\n Darcy Fogarty arrived at the Crows a few weeks after their most recent final \u2013 a defeat to the Tigers in the 2017 decider. He didn\u2019t have too far to travel after growing up in Lucindale, a small town in the south-east of South Australia with a population of fewer than 300, before completing high school as a boarder in Adelaide.<\/p>\n The 12th pick in the 2017 draft was handed the prized No 32 guernsey previously worn by Crows greats Mark Ricciuto and Patrick Dangerfield. The expectation was that the powerful forward would be a key part of a team that would remain in contention for years to come.<\/p>\n A series of on-field and off-field blunders \u2013 most notably an ill-fated pre-season training camp in 2018 \u2013 plunged the club into crisis. The Crows plummeted from runners-up to wooden spooners in just three years.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were some dark times over a long period,\u201d Fogarty says. \u201cWe were really poor during the Covid years, so that makes it hard to compare the lowest points to where we are now.<\/p>\n \u201cI always had a little bit of belief, especially the last three or four years, that the group was building and going in the right direction, getting the right young players and we were lucky enough to recruit really well. But that experience just made everyone hungrier.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal for a long time was just to play finals. Even though it\u2019s only one game, we\u2019ve done that now. So now it has become more about \u2018how far can we go,\u2019 and \u2018how much damage can we do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Darcy Fogarty has been a key figure in Adelaide\u2019s rise up the AFL ladder but had a finals debut to forget. Photograph: Sarah Reed\/AFL Photos\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Fogarty didn\u2019t have the finals debut he hoped. The sharp-shooter has booted 40 goals this season, only one behind his career-high tally last year, but went goalless against the Pies. At 192cm, Fogarty is undersized for a key forward. But even his 201cm teammate Riley Thilthorpe had a game he\u2019d like to forget. The Magpies took 28 intercept marks while the Crows only booted eight goals<\/a> from 50 inside 50s.<\/p>\n Finals can be hard work for tall forwards. The increased physicality and pressure affects decision-making and skill execution all across the field. Fogarty is likely to be matched up on James Sicily for long periods<\/a> in the semi-final, with the Hawthorn captain\u2019s ability to turn defence into attack a weapon to be contained.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly<\/p>\n Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week’s biggest AFL stories<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cI had a very quiet day and didn\u2019t really impact the game which is frustrating,\u201d he says. \u201cThe Collingwood defenders took a lot of intercept marks, so us as key forwards need to be better at competing ahead of the ball and bringing it to ground.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ball isn\u2019t always going to come in clean in finals because there\u2019s so much pressure up the ground. We\u2019ll have a really big emphasis on not allowing the Hawthorn defenders to mark the ball and then win our share from there. We need to respond this week.\u201d<\/p>\n Fogarty wasn\u2019t too surprised by the extra heat that came with playing in a final. The Crows had 16 players lining up against the Pies in their first final but were confident they had had enough of a taster in high-stakes clashes during the run home. The biggest shock to the 25-year-old was the noise coming out of Adelaide Oval and what felt like a 50-50 split between Crows and travelling fans.<\/p>\n A touch of spice is always expected against Collingwood<\/a>. The game was even more fiery this time, just three weeks after the Crows snapped an 11-match winless streak against the Pies, but star forward Izak Rankine was soon handed a four-game ban<\/a> for using a homophobic slur during the game.<\/p>\n The Crows\u2019 return to finals for the first time in eight years should have been a celebration. It was soured by the booing of Isaac Quaynor \u2013 the target of Rankine\u2019s offensive comment \u2013 as much as the eventual defeat.<\/p>\n Darcy Fogarty\u2019s main focus is avoiding a straight-sets finals exit. Photograph: Morgan Hancock\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cWe noticed it a little bit throughout the game,\u201d Fogarty says. \u201cWe want fans to come and support their teams and do that within respectful boundaries. Come and have fun and cheer us on but don\u2019t step over the line.\u201d<\/p>\n