After a second-straight defeat, Adelaide is now only percentage ahead of Greater Western Sydney and West Coast in top spot on the AFL ladder.

Coincidentally, the last time Adelaide lost consecutive matches was in Round 7 – 8 last year, against the Western Bulldogs and Geelong.

Saturday night’s loss was only the Club’s third defeat at home since Round 13, 2015.

The crowd of 47,882 was the biggest-ever for a home and away game between Adelaide and Melbourne, surpassing the previous best of 46,310 at Football Park in 1993.

The Crows led by 28 points midway through the second quarter, but Melbourne kicked the next nine goals either side of half time to be in front by 27 points at the last change.

Despite dominating the hit-outs, Adelaide lost the clearances 38 – 49. The major damage was done in the centre square where the Demons won the clearances 18 – 6.

The Crows also lost contested possession (156 – 172) for the first time this season, and were beaten in the tackle count 71 – 89.

Ruckman Sam Jacobs won 74 of Adelaide’s 76 hit-outs eclipsing his previous best of 61. This included a round-high 22 to advantage.

Defender Rory Laird was a shining light for the Crows. Laird gathered a game-high 37 possessions at 86.5 per cent efficiency. He also kicked his second goal for the season. Only Fremantle forward/midfielder Michael Walters (38) had more touches than Laird in Round Eight.

Laird ranks second in the League for total disposals this season (263) and has the third-best efficiency of the top 50 ball winners (81.7 per cent).

Crows midfielder Richard Douglas won more contested possessions (16) than any player on the ground and was also the equal-leading clearance player with seven.

Vice-captain Rory Sloane, who applied 12 tackles against Melbourne, leads the AFL in tackles (74).

The precise Dees recorded a scoring accuracy of 81 per cent at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

The inefficient Crows scored a goal from only 18.4 per cent of their forward 50m entries on the weekend, well below their season average of 30.9 per cent.

Match statistics
Disposals
Adelaide – 379
Melbourne – 420

Disposal efficiency
Adelaide – 72%
Melbourne – 72%

Kicks
Adelaide – 184
Melbourne – 213

Handballs
Adelaide – 195
Melbourne – 207

Clearances
Adelaide – 38
Melbourne – 49

Inside 50ms
Adelaide – 49
Melbourne – 53

Contested possessions
Adelaide – 156
Melbourne – 172

Uncontested possessions
Adelaide – 225
Melbourne – 246

Tackles
Adelaide – 71
Melbourne – 89

Hit-outs
Adelaide – 76
Melbourne – 29