THE ADELAIDE Crows remain in the hunt for a home final after coasting to a 69-point victory over Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday night - winning 22.18 (150) to 11.15 (81).
The Crows have consolidated third spot on the AFL ladder - just percentage behind Hawthorn and the Sydney Swans - and will claim a top-two berth and a home final next week if they defeat lowly Gold Coast at home and either the Hawks lose to West Coast or Swans lose to Geelong in the final round.
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The Crows had lost four of their past five games - including the past two - against the Demons at the MCG, and for much of the first half another Melbourne victory appeared possible.
In front of a crowd of 18,450, former Melbourne skipper Brad Green - playing inspired football in his final game - put the Demons in front when he slotted his second goal after 20 minutes.
Melbourne was still within five points when Jared Rivers snapped his second goal midway through the second term.
The Demons were desperate and in patches dominant, but the Crows' class soon proved a decisive factor, as they piled on the next seven goals, and 14 of the next 17 to storm to a 74-point lead by three-quarter time.
The visitors' third-quarter tally of 10.4 equalled their best effort of the season, which they first achieved in the final term against Greater Western Sydney in round 16.
Crows coach Brenton Sanderson was disappointed his side didn’t put the demons to the sword in the final term.
"No disrespect to Melbourne, but at times we took our foot off the gas," Sanderson said. "I didn’t like our last quarter, to be honest. Really good sides put sides away, play their way for four quarters. I thought we just flirted a bit.
"But at the same time, if you were to ask me about that performance before the game I would have taken it."
The Crows' multi-pronged attack looked menacing with Taylor Walker the most influential player afield with a career-best 14 marks (six contested) and four goals, mostly on 100-game Demon James Frawley, while key-forward partner Kurt Tippett (three), Ian Callinan (four) and Patrick Dangerfield (three) were also dangerous.
Adelaide's defence was also miserly - in 'red time' (after the 20-minute mark) of each of the opening three quarters, Adelaide outscored the Demons 9.6 to just two behinds - while its midfield was dominant.
Ruckman Sam Jacobs gave an armchair ride to Crows midfielders like former Demon Scott Thompson, who was the pick of Adelaide's runners, who spread the load well in a game in which they weren't challenged after half-time.
Melbourne coach Mark Neeld said parts of the first quarter were "probably as good" as his side had played for "a while".
He also lauded Jacobs' ruckwork as "outstanding".
"He'll cause some trouble in September if he can deliver that to those midfielders. I think he had plus 15 hit-outs to advantage. That's a reasonable day at the office," he said.
The best for the Demons was Colin Sylvia, who amassed a game-high 34 disposals after starting on the bench, while regular shining lights Nathan Jones (25) and Jeremy Howe also provided highlights.
MELBOURNE 3.4 5.7 8.10 11.15 (81)
ADELAIDE 5.3 10.8 20.12 22.18 (150)
GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 4, Callinan 4, Dangerfield 3, Tippett 3, Douglas 2, Johncock 2, Petrenko, Rielly, van Berlo, Wright
Melbourne: Green 2, Sellar 2, Rivers 2, Blease, Howe, Jones, Watts, Spencer
BEST
Adelaide: Jacobs, Walker, Thompson, Wright, Tippett, Dangerfield, Callinan, Porplyzia, van Berlo
Melbourne: Sylvia, Bail, Jones, McKenzie, Spencer
INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Melbourne: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Luke Brown replaced Bernie Vince during the third quarter.
Melbourne: Neville Jetta replaced Jared Rivers at three-quarter time
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Fleer, Leppard, Wenn
Official crowd: 18,450 at the MCG
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL
