The Hawks led by two points late in the third quarter before the Crows broke the game open with four goals in eight minutes, and then added 6.4 to 3.1 with a strong south-westerly wind in the final term for a hard-earned 16.13 (109) to 11.7 (73) victory.
Adelaide led by as much as 47 points - 15.12 to 8.7 - at the 19-minute mark of the final quarter, but was reined in by late goals to Hawthorn's Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead and Ben Dixon before Matthew Bode sank the Crows' 16th goal.
The late sighs of relief from the crowd of 37,446 were as audible as the groans of frustration for most of the first three quarters when the hungry Hawks stretched the error-riddled Crows all over the ground, just as they had worried West Coast before falling only 10 points short at the MCG last week.
Midfielder Simon Goodwin again was a consistent force for Adelaide with a game-high 38 disposals, acrobatic half-forward Brett Burton kicked seven goals, including four of the first six, midfielder Scott Thompson booted three goals and Andrew McLeod and Graham Johncock provided big rebound from defence, as usual.
Johncock was at his brilliant best piling up 28 possessions and he crowned his 100th AFL match by kicking the Crows' 12th goal - for a 30-point lead - that sealed the result 12 minutes into the final term.
The Hawks worried Adelaide at the stoppages and were well served by midfielders Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Rick Ladson and Matthew Ball, defenders Campbell Brown and Brad Sewell, and ruckman Robert Campbell.
Ladson was helped from the field late in the final quarter after a pack collision with Mark Ricciuto, and ruckman Peter Everitt limped off early in the third quarter and made only a brief return.
Adelaide lost tall forward Trent Hentschel with a corked left thigh only nine minutes into the first quarter and he remained on the bench. Dashing half-back Martin Mattner limped off with a right ankle injury at the 15-minute mark of the second term, but went back on six minutes into the third quarter.
The first half could hardly have been tighter, with both teams tackling ferociously and with the scores locked at one, two, three and four goals each until Goodwin's snapped goal gave Adelaide a seven-point lead - the biggest of the half - just before the siren.
Hawthorn had first use of a strong south-westerly win but scores were level at 2.3 each at quarter-time and Adelaide added 3.3 to 2.2 in the second term.
The Crows finessed with the ball too much in the difficult conditions and made too many uncharacteristic skill errors, being astray with hand and foot - probably more so ahead of centre. But Hawthorn had to take some of the credit for that because of its relentless pressure.
With the Hawks flooding back, there wasn't much room to move in Adelaide's forward 50, and Ricciuto, who had to contend with limited service and the close attention of Sewell, had only one kick and three handpasses before half-time.
Ricciuto left the field briefly early in the third quarter to have stitches in a gash above his right eye.
In the end, Adelaide extended its overall record against Hawthorn to 14-9, including 8-2 at AAMI Stadium, where the Hawks have won only four of 18 matches (including their 2-6 record against Port Adelaide).
Adelaide coach Neil Craig described it as 'a great game for us to play in', and he added: "Hawthorn, particularly in the first half, were very good and so were we. It was a tough game of footy. Both sides were on the attack in reasonably tough conditions.
"It just goes to show, and there's been a fair bit of hype about expectation and (being) unbeatable and whatever, and you've got another game as well - St Kilda-Essendon, the same sort of thing - it's a tough competition.
"It's also good for our supporters to come and watch that sort of game as well. If we're good enough to get a home final, I can guarantee our supporters it won't be a free-flowing game. It will be that type of footy, so it was a good game for us to play in … where we had to fight really hard and I thought we showed a lot, particularly in the second half, to keep going."
But Craig said he thought the Crows had been 'sloppy' towards the end of the match and still had 'a lot of things to work on'.
Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said Everitt's foot injury had hurt the Hawks, and he added: "It just upset our mix a little bit in terms of our rotations with the rucks. We had to push Trent Croad into the ruck, taking away our focal point.
"Adelaide kicked four goals in a row against the breeze in the third quarter and we weren't able to arrest control of that momentum Adelaide had then. It ended up being the decisive break in the game, really. Full credit to our young lads for hanging in there for as long as they did."
ADELAIDE: 2.3, 5.6, 10.9, 16.13 (109)
HAWTHORN: 2.3, 4.5, 8.6, 11.7 (73)
GOALS – Adelaide: Burton 7, Thompson 3, Goodwin 2, McGregor, Johncock, Edwards, Bode
Hawthorn: Franklin 3, Campbell 2, Ladson 2, Dixon 2,Williams, Roughead
BEST – Adelaide: Burton, Johncock, Goodwin, Thompson, McLeod, Edwards, Massie, Reilly
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Hodge, Ladson, Ball, Birchall, Sewell, Brown, Campbell
INJURIES - Adelaide: Hentschel (corked thigh), Ricciuto (cut above eye)
Hawthorn Everitt (foot), Ladson (heavy knock)
CHANGES – Hawthorn: Vandenberg (flu) replaced in the selected side by Ries
REPORTS - Nil
UMPIRES - Quigley, Kamolins, Ellis
CROWD - 37,446 at AAMI Stadium
