ADELAIDE edged nearer to a spot in the top eight after recording a 36-point victory over North Melbourne on Saturday night in veteran Crow Brent Reilly's 200th AFL match.
A five-goal third term inspired by the versatile Sam Kerridge, who booted four goals in a cameo forward role, was the driving force behind the Crows steamrolling the Kangaroos 16.13 (109) to 10.13 (73).
Kerridge, who kicked a career-high six goals against the Kangaroos last season, bagged three of his majors in the decisive third quarter, while Brodie Smith (28 disposals, nine marks) was arguably best on ground for the Crows following a classy display across half-back.
Also impressive were midfield pair Scott Thompson (30 disposals, nine tackles) and Rory Sloane (25 disposals, eight marks), ruckman Sam Jacobs, who won his duel with Todd Goldstein, power forward James Podsiadly (19 disposals, eight marks) and the crafty Eddie Betts, who kicked three goals in a dominant first half.
Former Kangaroos skipper Brent Harvey (31 disposals, two goals), midfielder Levi Greenwood (32 disposals) and the hard-nosed Ben Cunnington (24 disposals, six tackles) were among the best for the Roos.
Both sides kept each other tight in the first quarter and it took a Kangaroos defensive turnover for Podsiadly to kick the game's opener.
Podsiadly's goal broke the game open as Betts and Matthew Wright goaled in quick succession for the Crows - the first a stunning finish tucked up against the boundary line, although replays indicated the ex-Carlton man may have carried the ball over the boundary before kicking.
Thomas replied for the Kangaroos, but another Betts goal before quarter-time ensured the Crows regained the ascendancy.
The Crows carried that momentum into the second term when they kicked three goals in eight minutes to build a healthy lead. The Kangaroos responded, though, with three unanswered majors of their own to cut the deficit and give themselves a sniff of a comeback heading into the second half.
But Betts had other ideas as he threaded his third major of the encounter on the siren to give Adelaide a 28-point lead at the main break.
Both sides traded blows with goals at either end before Smith bombed through a 50-metre goal for the Crows that lifted the 47,205 crowd to its feet and gave the home side further breathing room.
Kerridge added two more to his haul, including a clever soccer-style finish off the deck, to push the Crows' lead out to 45 points at three-quarter time.
The Crows kicked three goals to North Melbourne's four in the final term to cruise to vital win.
Adelaide Coach Brenton Sanderson was pleased with the four-quarter performance but craves another one against Essendon next week.
"We celebrated in the rooms for five minutes and then we moved our focus to next week's game against Essendon," Sanderson said.
"We cannot accept the ups and downs anymore.
"When we play four quarters we are a very good side."
Unsurprisingly, North Melbourne Coach Brad Scott was extremely disappointed with his team's effort.
"The stark difference between the way we played and the way they played was enormous," Scott said.
"Some of our players were okay, some were terrible.
"We don't get 22 contributors each week."
ADELAIDE 4.4 8.7 13.10 16.13 (109)
NORTH MELBOURNE 1.2 4.3 6.7 10.13 (73)
GOALS
Adelaide: Kerridge 4, Betts 3, Podsiadly 2, Walker 2, Jenkins 2, Wright, Smith, Mackay
North Melbourne: Thomas 4, Harvey 2, Hansen, Greenwood, Bastinac, Petrie
BEST
Adelaide: Smith, Betts, Kerridge, Sloane, Podsiadly, Dangerfield
North Melbourne: Harvey, Greenwood, Cunnington, Thomas, Hansen
INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Brodie Martin replaced Matt Crouch in the third quarter
North Melbourne: Liam Anthony replaced Robbie Tarrant in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Fleer, Bannister, Rosebury
Official crowd: 47,205 at Adelaide Oval
