The long day was well worth it. We left Canberra at 10.30am for the trip up the Hume Highway and then crawled along King Georges Road before scrambling to find our seats just before kick off at 2.10pm. 

So my mate Peter and I had plenty of time to preview the game. I told him the story of John Harms warning me this was a danger game for Adelaide. That was absolutely right of course and I said that the winner would make the eight. The GIANTS deserved to be favourite on form and Adelaide was weakened by losing two key defenders, Smith and Jaensch, last week.

The GIANTS have improved so much this year and we’ve enjoyed their wins at StarTrack Oval so we were excited about our visit to their home ground. For us, apart from the recruitment of Joel Patful and Ryan Griffen and the further maturing of many young players, the big improvement to the side all year has been Cam McCarthy. He is a clear point of difference over previous years in the forward line. We like his straight leading up the ground which nicely balances the more deceptive style of Jeremy Cameron, in particular. And he finishes off his work with goals.

Today, as it turned out, the game was decided in the first fifteen minutes. Adelaide’s poor starts have been their weakness all season and, despite their determination to change that, they hardly touched the ball early. We’d barely settled into our seats alongside the mums and kids behind the goals in the general admission section in front of Gate D before the GIANTS were leading 34-0. The game was all up the other end.

From then on the Crows struggled to catch up. It was a game of surges and the Crows did come at the GIANTS again and again, controlling the game for ten minutes at a time. At one stage early in the second quarter the GIANTS led by only five points and I thought they were in trouble, but they generally had the game in hand by about 20 points. Then in the second half of the third quarter five goals in a row put the game beyond doubt. For a few crucial minutes it rained goals straight out of the centre. Adelaide salvaged some dignity in the last quarter but the final margin of 24 points was a fair reflection of the game. 

The Giants have added tremendous pressure and a refusal to be rattled to the speed and run which has always been their signature. Their great moments of breath-takingly attractive running footy are now matched by toughness and desperation around the ball. Mumford and Ward led the way inside, McCarthy (four goals) and Cameron (two) were dangerous in the forward line and they got good service from the mid-fielders running through the centre. The best play of the day came in the third quarter when Griffen sprinted into the forward line and found McCarthy for a goal.

But it was a team effort. The depth in the squad is notable now and previously fringe players like Matt Buntine and James Stewart are showing the growth in confidence that comes from stringing some games together. Defender Buntine, who once seemed always to be one of the emergencies when the GIANTS came to Canberra, was steady all day and sneaked forward in the third quarter for the first goal in his career. Once that happened you knew it would be the GIANTS' day. Stewart showed signs again that he will become a good player though he missed some opportunities today.

Both sides kicked some excellent goals, either from the fifty metre line or from the pockets. But in the end the GIANTS were just too good, though not running over the Crows in the end as the vocal fans near us were hoping. From here they should make the eight, which from the depths of a one win season in 2013 is a remarkable achievement.

The Crows are still a chance too, but they made too many mistakes.  They have lost a few players to injury this season, and more (Kerridge and Laird) went down today. Their forward line always has the potential to kick a lot of goals. The mobile Walker (four goals) and the elusive Betts (three) were consistently dangerous, though they had to work well up the field sometimes, and kicked some beautiful goals. Jacobs had an even battle with Mumford and the veteran Thompson worked hard with Dangerfield on the ball. Their defence was swamped at times, but their two young defenders, Lever and Kelly, look the goods. Lever, tall and still light, could be a real star in a year or two.

For the GIANTS revenge must be sweet after all those thrashings at the hands of the Crows. They can trouble anyone this year and could be dangerous in September. By the time we eventually arrived back in Canberra at 8.30pm we were confident that the GIANTS, now in the fifth year of their own long journey, have arrived too.

John Warhurst is from Canberra and is a Foundation Member of Greater Western Sydney and also a Member of the Adelaide Crows

More GWS stories, and other fan-writing can be found on the GIANTS page at www.footyalmanac.com.au