Adelaide’s SANFL side has backed up last week’s strong performance with another convincing win, defeating North Adelaide by 29 points at Prospect Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The Crows were able to respond each time they were tested by the Roosters, to come away 17.12 (114) vs 13.7 (85) victors.

Here are the five key takeaways from the match:

Second term, turnaround 

Kicking with the wind in the second quarter, the Crows took control of the game, playing it on their terms.

Adelaide dominated time in forward half, having 19 inside 50s, while allowing the Roosters just three.

The Crows were able to lock the ball in their forward half and get repeat inside 50s - but wayward kicking resulted in a return of just five goals from 13 scoring shots.

“(In the first half) we were a little bit too grab and didn’t take it clean, we turned the ball over and they punished us on the back of it,” SANFL Senior Coach Matthew Wright said.

“In the second quarter I thought we were able to go a little bit more directly and get it into the big fellas.”

Bittersweet for Murray

Forward Toby Murray was impactful for the Crows early, helping them gain momentum and setting up two goals in two minutes.

Murray continued to impress as the game progressed until he unfortunately went down midway through the third with an ankle injury, taking no further part in the game.

“He’s been playing a good brand of footy, and he was taking his opportunities in the air,” Wright said.

“It looked like it was going to be a break-out game for him.”

Murray finished with 13 disposals, seven marks, eight hitouts and four inside 50s.

Drury applies the pressure

Marquee SANFL recruit Blake Drury brought the pressure all afternoon for the Crows, laying a game-high 10 tackles for the match.

Drury was lively when the ball was in his vicinity, able to impact both ways, while providing second and third efforts.

“He’s super versatile, to go inside and play on-ball and then high forward, he’s a really important player for us,” Wright said.

“He brings the intensity, he's a great finisher, he's an on-ground leader and his game continues to grow.”

Drury amassed 18 touches, six marks, four clearances and booted one major.

McAndrew battles hard

Ruckman Lachlan McAndrew was a pillar of consistency for Adelaide, battling solo for the final term following Murray’s injury.

Despite North putting time into him with its two rucks, Alex van Wyk and Mitch Harvey, McAndrew was up for the challenge, with Wright impressed with his output.

“We saw what van Wyk did last week and how dominant he was, so for McAndrew to come in today and have a game statistically like that was impressive,” he said.

“They are incredible numbers, but he’s been doing that week in, week out and he’s one that works really hard on his game and just wants to get better.”

McAndrew finished with 21 disposals, a game-high nine clearances, 32 hitouts and four inside 50s.

Reliable Burgess

Forward Chris Burgess was at his reliable best for Adelaide, working his way into the game to finish with a bag of five goals.

Burgess hit the scoreboard at opportune times, stealing the momentum back for Adelaide, with his fourth major coming after the Roosters had booted two quick goals to start the fourth.

“I’m pumped for him to get the reward, he’s been playing super consistent footy for a long period of time for us,” Wright said.

“For him to go back and drop it in from 50, it steadied the ship a little bit and then we were able to build our game in that last quarter on the back of that.”

Burgess finished with 13 disposals, eight marks and three inside 50s.

Adelaide’s SANFL side will not play next weekend, with a league-wide bye due to Gather Round. Its next SANFL game will be a Good Friday blockbuster on April 18th against Glenelg at Glenelg Oval, with the first bounce at 4:10pm.

ADELAIDE: 4.0  9.8  12.10  17.12  (114)
NORTH ADELAIDE: 5.2  5.4  9.6  13.7  (85)

GOALS:

Adelaide: Burgess 5, Welsh, Taylor, 2, Dowling, Pedlar, Edwards, O’Leary, Atkinson, Boyle, Cook, Drury
North Adelaide: Casalini 3, Dignan, Willis, Francou 2, Spina, Harvey, Szekely, Mackinlay

BEST:

Burgess, McAndrew, Dowling, Taylor, Jones, Madgen, Butts