Bren O'Brien in Launceston
Adelaide coach Aurelio Vidmar has lavished praise on his new signings after the Reds secured a 2-1 win in their opening Pre-Season Cup fixture against Melbourne, courtesy of a brace from Brazilian import Cristiano.
The Reds have undergone quite a makeover in the off-season, with strike pair Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite heading off to Europe, while the club has added Brazilians Cristiano and Alamao to the line-up.
Vidmar has been delighted with the way the two new imports have integrated into the club and said that Cristiano's performance on Sunday in Launceston was a measure of what a difference he could make to the Reds this season.
"We've been rapt the way they have settled into the team, from the very first days they've come in, they've really mixed it up with the boys quite easily. All the boys have welcomed them with open arms," he said.
"That's just the culture at our club and that's the culture at Australian football. They have got a fair deal of experience behind them, and as you saw Cristiano, first real serious hit out. And it looked like he's been here for years."
While both of Cristiano's goals on Sunday came with a touch of striker's nous, Vidmar is confident the 26-year-old will offer more than just a poaching quality.
"It was a good opportunists' goal that first one, Robbie Cornthwaite and Paul Agostino, really fought to keep it alive and he popped it into the right spot. It was a good finish that second one right at the death," Vidmar said.
"He is a poacher but he can score other types of goals. He's very, very good in the air. There were a couple of occasions today, in the middle of the park where he got up really high. But he can do that in front of goals, and that's what we're hoping for. Once we work on the delivery."
Vidmar used other recruits Alamao and Scott Jamison out wide to give the Reds some variety in going forward and the coach was happy with what he saw.
"Alamao got us into some very good areas, Scott Jamieson on the left also got us into good areas. We had trouble getting it past the first defender," he said.
The coach also praised his players approach to the conditions with a top temperature of just under seven degrees during a match played in drizzling rain.
"They wouldn't have seen conditions like this in a long time. Cristiano played in Europe for ten years. For him, it's part of the norm. It wasn't easy because it was quite greasy. Controlling the ball was hard at times. I though both teams went out and put on a very good effort."
"I thought it was a pretty good hit out for first-up I felt we controlled a lot of the game. There was a lot of periods in the second half where we controlled it. The game opened up as the game progressed. We had about 10 corners as well. The intent was that we really wanted to get forward and we did that."