For the second straight week, the Crows kicked a total of 18.11 (119).
Eddie Betts continued his hot streak against St Kilda, bagging six goals – his biggest haul as a Crow and best return since Round 21, 2011. His best effort was eight goals against Essendon in Round 18 of 2011.
Betts has now kicked 20 goals in his last four games and a total of 26 for the season – ranked second in the AFL behind West Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy (27).
Betts and Crows captain Taylor Walker were involved in nearly half of Adelaide’s scores (44.8 per cent) against the Saints.
Scott Thompson topped Adelaide’s possession count with 35 disposals at Adelaide Oval on Saturday. Thompson also won a game-high nine clearances and laid five tackles.
The Crows scored from 55.8 per cent of their forward 50m entries on Saturday. Only Hawthorn, who thumped Melbourne, was more efficient going inside attacking 50m (60.3 per cent).
Adelaide kicked six goals without miss in the second quarter.
Five Crows kicked multiple goals in Adelaide’s 46-point win.Betts led the way with six, while Walker, who also had three goal assists, Tom Lynch and Charlie Cameron each slotted three. Midfielder Mitch Grigg booted two.
Cameron collected a career-high 16 touches to go with his equal-best return of three goals.
Rory Laird continued his rich vein of form, gathering 26 disposals at 96.2 per cent efficiency. The tough utility also took a team-high 10 marks.
Patrick Dangerfield laid a game-high 10 tackles to go with 24 touches, seven clearances, five inside 50ms and a goal.
Ruckman Sam Jacobs won 40 hit-outs – four more than St Kilda’s total (36) for the day.
Of the 23 players who lined up for Adelaide on Saturday, nine have played fewer than 50 games.
In a statistic that will please coach Phil Walsh, the Crows had a ground-ball differential of +30 against the Saints – the equal-highest in an AFL game this season. The home team also won the contested possession count by 27.
Match statistics
Disposals
Adelaide – 418
St Kilda – 356
Kicks
Adelaide – 225
St Kilda – 198
Handballs
Adelaide – 193
St Kilda – 158
Free Kicks
Adelaide – 16
St Kilda – 20
Clearances
Adelaide – 42
St Kilda – 39
Inside 50ms
Adelaide – 52
St Kilda – 56
Contested Possessions
Adelaide – 145
St Kilda – 118
Tackles
Adelaide – 61
St Kilda – 62
Hit-outs
Adelaide – 46
St Kilda – 35
