Crows No. 2 pick Riley Thilthorpe does the unthinkable in insane comeback

Crows young gun Riley Thilthorpe has become an instant hero after the eight-game star kicked the winning goal in just his eighth AFL game as Adelaide all but extinguished St Kilda’s flickering finals flame with a gutsy comeback win in Cairns.

The Crows were diabolically bad in the first half, going scoreless in the first quarter and trailing by 30 at halftime as St Kilda opened up a 7.6 (48) to 2.6 (18) lead in the clash in Cairns.

The Saints dominated the territory game early on to keep the Crows scoreless in the first quarter for only the fifth time in the club’s 701-game history.

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While it looked as though the old Crows were back, Adelaide bounced back in the second half, chipping away at the lead to make a game of it going down the stretch.

But with two minutes remaining and a point down, the Crows, who had been behind in the game since essentially the opening bounce, needed a hero.

Step up Thilthorpe.

As the clock ticked under two minutes, the 200cm first-year Crow had the chance to give Adelaide the lead with a goal or to level the scores with a behind from a set shot on the boundary, but missed everything.

The 18-year-old done good.Source:Getty Images

But less than a minute later, he produced one of the more magical goals of the season, latching onto a loose ball and showing his athleticism to kick the ball back over his head for the go-ahead goal in the final minute.

“He kicks it back over his head, hoping for some magic — he’s produced it,” Anthony Hudson screamed in commentary. “The Crows have produced a miracle.”

It was his third goal of the match and social media went wild for the young star.

Riley Thilthorpe is a going to be an absolute gun for Adelaide. That was incredible for a kid #AFLSaintsCrows

Thilthorpe's high footy IQ has been very evident in his short career to date and again tonight.

Brilliant to just bang it on his non-preferred left foot.#AFL#AFLSaintsCrows

He kicked the ball over his head on his non-preferred foot and won the game with a goal #AFLSaintsCrows

Riley Thilthorpe, you little beauty!!!! #AFLSaintsCrows

WE WERE IN FRONT FOR 2 MINS AND WON ? #gocrom#AFLSaintsCrows

While the AFL world was all over Thilthorpe after stealing the unthinkable victory, the fans equally turned on the Saints, labelling the side “insipid” and the result an “utterly hopeless choke”.

Post-game, you couldn’t wipe the smile from Thilthorpe’s face.

“I don’t even know (how I feel), I couldn’t tell you,” he said. “I missed that set shot which would have put us up, and then it fell in my lap. I don’t know how it went in but it went in and we’ll take it.

“I just saw the ball and kicked it.”

— with NCA Newswire

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