‘Motivation to drive us’: Dawson opens up on goal controversy, bold moves behind superstar rise

The Adelaide Crows, to quote captain Jordan Dawson, “didn’t cry over spilt milk” after their season ended under dubious circumstances.

A painful season finale for Matthew Nicks’ team occurred when Ben Keays’ controversial rejected goal late in Adelaide’s one-point loss to the Swans in Round 23 essentially lost them a spot in the finals.

Many believed the Crows had been mugged. The AFL even went so far as to say that the goal umpire, who at the time thought Keays’ shot had just brushed the post, made the incorrect call.

Given the eight-point ladder swing versus Sydney, another finals hopeful, it was all the more expensive. Because if the outcome had been different, Adelaide would have grabbed the final slot in the top eight and

played their first finals since 2017.
Speaking to foxfooty.com.au during this week’s AFL Captains Day, Dawson nonetheless claimed the Crows swiftly put the difficult defeat behind them in order to focus on winning in 2024.

We accepted it as a group and swiftly moved it to the back of our minds. The captain of the Crows stated, “We decided to use what we could as motivation to drive us and not let it linger over the off-season.”

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