The AFL community has rallied around ‘superhuman’ Adelaide Crows captain Jordan Dawson after an emotional end to a thrilling one-point win over Geelong on Thursday night.
The skipper kicked three important goals in one of his best games this season as he continues to bravely battle on for his side in the wake of his brother Jaryd’s death earlier this year.
Dawson also wore a couple of heavy hits against the Cats but saw out the contest, before celebrations made way for a tearful moment of reflection.
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“That man there played an amazing, amazing game,” Luke Hodge said in commentary on Channel 7.
“Three goals, he really stood up … you can see the emotion, he’s obviously been through so much, him and his family, we can see the emotion pouring out of him.”
Kane Cornes praised the “amazing” Dawson.
“Courageously out there leading this group like he did tonight under adversity,” Cornes said.
Geelong counterpart Patrick Dangerfield held up his post-match interview to embrace Dawson after the siren.
“Footy’s amazing, isn’t it? Our thoughts to Jordan Dawson,” Cornes added.
The win marked Dawson’s first triumph over the Cats since joining Adelaide at the start of 2022, having lost all six meetings prior to Thursday night.
Channel 7’s Hamish McLachlan spoke to Dawson during an ad break and shared a brief insight into the skipper’s mindset.
“I wish those at home could see the joy and see the families that have been on the journey,” he said.
“Without giving up anything (private) he said ‘this is where I get happiness again right now’.
“This is the place to get involved, escape what is clearly the worst time of his life.”
Nick Riewoldt said footy clubs allow players to “insulate” themselves with their teammates and purpose.
“And you can go out and express yourself for a couple of hours,” he said.
“We saw incredible pictures at the end there of the emotion all bubbling to the surface (for Dawson).
“It’s not just actually getting out there for Jordan and playing again — he’s leading the group at the same time. He’s trying to regulate the emotions of an entire group of men, that’s your job as captain.
“It’s something I can relate to, I went through something pretty similar and to be performing at the level he is — it’s superhuman.”
Riewoldt was in his penultimate year as St Kilda captain when his sister Maddie died aged 26 in 2015 following a five-year battle with aplastic anaemia, a bone marrow failure syndrome.
“It’s just an incredible act to turn up for the club not only play a role but play the role as leader. It all just boiled over and he said to us it’s a long day waiting — you can’t wait to get going again,” McLachlan said.
Riewoldt said “that’s the beauty of footy”.
“Every week you’ve got that opportunity to just devote yourself to a purpose with a group of guys you build incredible relationships with,” he added.
“So when you do face adversity individually, being at a football club, I’m not sure there are many better places to be.”
Speaking on the win, Dawson told Brian Taylor the Crows had worked to “bring our hunt back” after struggling to reach the highs of last year.
“I think we’ve been a bit inconsistent in that and on the back of that it’s your fundamentals, ball movement, everything ties into your contest and getting that right,” he said.
“We dropped away a little bit (during the game) and to Geelong’s credit, they’re a great team and we knew they’d bring it in that third quarter. Such a good way to fight back in that last quarter.”
