Adelaide has continued its strong start to 2016 with a 36-point victory over Richmond at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

The Tigers came out firing after the week of scrutiny that followed its fadeout Round Two loss to Collingwood, but in the end it simply had no answers to the strong pressure and slick ball movement that carried the Crows to a 19.14 (128) to 13.14 (92) victory.

From the time Adelaide shot out to a 39-point lead at the 20-minute mark of the second quarter, Richmond never seriously threatened the Crows, who led by 52 points early in the final term before conceding four of the final five goals of the match.

Many had tipped the Crows to fall down the ladder this season after star midfielder Patrick Dangerfield's defection to Geelong in last year's trade period, but Saturday's win improved their record under new coach Don Pyke to 2-1.

And their form so far this year – they impressed in a 10-point away loss to North Melbourne in Round One and obliterated Port Adelaide by 58 points in round two – suggests that they can back up, if not improve on, their sixth place finish last year.

All the big talking points out of Adelaide’s win over Richmond

Adelaide's midfield again showed it has great depth at the coalface, with Scott Thompson (28 possessions, seven clearances and two goals) doing much of the grunt work at stoppages and Brodie Smith (26 possessions and two goals) damaging in open space.

Rory Laird gave the Crows plenty of drive from defence, where Daniel Talia kept Jack Riewoldt to one goal and little of his usual influence.

Crows captain Taylor Walker kicked three goals, including a 60m bomb from inside the centre square midway through the third term, while the opportunistic Eddie Betts and midfielder Richard Douglas also kicked three majors.

Adelaide coach Don Pyke was pleased with the way his team settled after Richmond's fast start to the match.

"I thought after five or six minutes, she was on in there, and our guys were prepared for that," Pyke said after the game.

"It probably took us a little while to settle.

"We knew we were in for a big challenge today, based on Richmond being a quality team (which was) coming off a loss last week.

"I was really pleased with the way the players committed themselves to the contest."

Richmond's loss saw it slump to 1-2 after three rounds, with its only win coming against Carlton in the opening round.

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said skill execution had hurt his side, with about eight turnovers heading into attack leading directly to Crows goals.

"I thought our skill execution and the amount of times we missed a handball which then referred pressure on to another teammate which then led to a turnover which then gave goals the other way (was costly)," Hardwick said.

"The amount of times that we were out, or thought we had a goal-scoring opportunity, and then we fluff it up and make the mistake. We had what we call eight 12-point turnarounds, which in the nutshell is the game.

"So we will continue to work on that."

After a week in which his leadership was roundly questioned, Richmond captain Trent Cotchin led from the front, racking up 32 possessions but, more importantly, urging his teammates on by word and example at every opportunity.

Brandon Ellis (39 possessions) and Bachar Houli (36) were prolific ball winners for the Tigers, while Sam Lord (three goals) was the best of Richmond's forwards and ruckman Shaun Hampson waged a fierce battle against Crows counterpart Sam Jacobs.

Richmond came out firing at the opening bounce. Applying fanatical pressure through the midfield, they kicked the opening goal of the game through Shaun Grigg – and the opening three scores of the game – and kept Adelaide scoreless for the opening eight minutes of the game.

However, once the visitors settled, they started to find their way through the Tigers' defences, kicking four of the next five goals to go into quarter-time with a 13-point lead.

The Crows' pressure also lifted noticeably during this stretch of the game. A passage of play that led to an Eddie Betts goal at the 21-minute mark of the first quarter was a good example.

When Richmond defender Bachar Houli took a handball on the half volley deep in the Tigers' defensive 50, he was set on by Paul Seedsman from the front and then by Betts from behind. Betts was the beneficiary of the free kick for holding the ball, but Seedsman deserved a goal assist for his part in Houli's demise.

Adelaide carried that momentum into the second term, kicking five of the first seven goals to open up a 39-point lead at the 20-minute mark.

Cotchin's fanatical work rate through the middle of the ground then sparked three consecutive Tiger goals that got Richmond back into the game.

The Tigers should have pulled to within 15 points when Jack Riewoldt marked within 25m of goal on a slight angle at the 29-minute mark.

But the two-time Coleman medallist hit the post and the Crows sped the ball down the ground to respond with a goal almost immediately through Josh Jenkins.

When Daniel Rioli could not convert from 40m under no pressure, the Tigers went into half-time 25 points down.

NEXT UP
Richmond faces one of the toughest assignments in the game next Friday night when it travels to Domain Stadium to take on West Coast, although the Tigers will take confidence into the clash knowing they have beaten the Eagles in their past two clashes at the Perth venue. Adelaide will return home to play the Sydney Swans at the Adelaide Oval next Saturday night. The Swans have been a bogey team for the Crows recently, winning their past four games by an average of 55 points.

 


RICHMOND   2.3       7.5       9.10    13.14 (92)
ADELAIDE     4.4       11.6     17.9    19.14 (128)

GOALS
Richmond: Lloyd 3, Vickery 2, Rioli 2, Grigg, Riewoldt, Cotchin, Lambert, Hampson, Edwards
Adelaide: Walker 3, Betts 3, Douglas 3, Thompson 2, Sloane 2, Lyons 2, Smith 2, Jenkins, McGovern

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Houli, Riewoldt, B Ellis, Hampson
Adelaide: Thompson, Laird, Betts, Smith, Walker, Crouch, Seedsman

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Adelaide: Seedsman (concussion)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Bannister, Dalgleish, Schmitt

Official crowd: 29,951 at Etihad Stadium