Stung by pre-season losses to St Kilda and Fremantle, the Crows flew to a 50-point lead at half-time – 8.10 to 1.2 – and soared on to win 17.16 (118) to 4.6 (30).
As superbly as Adelaide played under the inspirational leadership of in-form midfielders Simon Goodwin, Mark Ricciuto and Andrew McLeod, the result still had to be measured against West Coast being without Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Michael Gardiner, Phil Matera, David Wirrpunda, Daniel Chick, Michael Embley and Trent Carroll, while Adelaide did not have Rhett Biglands, James Gallagher and Mark Stevens, whose future is clouded because of a knee injury.
The Eagles lost Josh Wooden late in the first quarter after he fractured his right collarbone in a heavy collision with Goodwin, and Wooden’s wing opponent, Brent Reilly, hurt his right shoulder early in the second term.
Wooden will be out for about six weeks.
It was feared Reilly had suffered a recurrence of the shoulder problem that hampered him last season, but Adelaide officials said later it was only a ‘minor strain’.
Adelaide coach Gary Ayres said: “Three things stood out to me – the intensity and the energy levels of the players right from the start to the finish, and that’s a big pat on the back, even though it’s only a practice match.
“But it’s a big pat on the back to the senior players. I thought they were great in just keeping the ship right this week, and they showed why they’re a quality leadership group, and I’d just back them every time to do that sort of stuff when the chips are down.”
Ayres referred to the many players the Eagles had out and said: "They can only get better, but still it’s important for us to get into some sort of confident frame of mind from where we’ve been at.”
West Coast coach John Worsfold said: “We were outgunned by a very good side – and in most facets of the game. We probably expected we were going to be outgunned in certain areas but it was more comprehensive than I would have expected.
“It was a pretty disappointing loss but, overall, I’m quite happy we know where we’re at with our preparation, and we’re marching forward from there.
“We’re at a point where we’ve just managed to play a lot of good, young exciting players and give them some opportunities. In a way, they can learn more about playing in a game where it’s not being delivered that well to them – and they’ve got to really fight to win the footy – than they would if it was just a game you were in control of.
“So I think that’s probably worth two or three games for them tonight. For us, as a club, we’ve got our eyes set on round one, and our preparation for that, bar Josh Wooden’s injury, is going along pretty well.”
Worsfold said most of the players rested against Adelaide would play against Hawthorn in another practice match at Subiaco Oval next Friday.
ADELAIDE: 4.8, 8.10, 12.11, 17.16 (118)
WEST COAST: 1.0, 1.2, 3.4, 4.6 (30)
Goals – Adelaide: Carey 3, Goodwin 3, McLeod, Reilly, Johncock, Hentschel, Ricciuto, Burns, Stenglein, Bode, Welsh.
West Coast: Johnson 2, Seaby, Staker.
Best – Adelaide: Goodwin, Ricciuto, McLeod, Johncock, Burton, Hart, Carey, Bassett, McGregor.
West Coast: Jakovich, Fletcher, Kerr, Seaby.
Injuries – Adelaide: Reilly (shoulder). West Coast: Wooden (shoulder).
Umpires: D. Woodcock, M. Avon, S. Grun, A. Dey.
Crowd: 8817 at AAMI Stadium.
