WEST Coast has recorded its second win at AAMI Stadium this season, overcoming a third-quarter comeback from Adelaide to run out 39-point victors.

The Eagles held a commanding 44-point lead at half time, but the Crows regained the momentum in the third term and cut the margin to 11 points at the final change.

Explosive onballer Patrick Dangerfield had a chance to put Adelaide within one straight kick of West Coast in the opening minutes of the final quarter, but his shot at goal from 20m out missed everything.

The Eagles rebounded, and influential players Dean Cox, Daniel Kerr and Mark LeCras combined to set up a steadying goal to forward Mark Nicoski.

Another goal to Nicoski snuffed out any hope of an Adelaide upset, and the visitors kicked away to a 15.16 (106) to 10.7 (67) win.

The loss was soured by an injury to star forward Kurt Tippett, who was substituted from the game after injuring his shoulder in an attempted tackle during the second quarter.

LeCras outpointed Adelaide defender Graham Johncock to kick five goals, while Nicoski finished with three.

Kerr (27 possessions and nine clearances), Matt Rosa (31 possessions and two goals) and Andrew Embley (29 possessions and three clearances) helped orchestrate the win with their midfield dominance.

After being blitzed by North Melbourne in the opening term last weekend, the Crows emphasised the importance of a fast start against the best first-quarter contested possession team in the competition.

The home team was able to execute its plan, kicking the opening two goals of the game, but failed to capitalise on the breeze favouring the northern end and a late goal to LeCras reduced the margin to 10 points at quarter-time.

Led by Cox, Naitanui and Kerr the Eagles threatened to bust the game open in the second quarter.

Cox was the beneficiary of a brilliant centre hit-out from Naitanui, marking the ball strongly inside 50m and kicking the opening goal of the term.

The play triggered a flurry of goals to the scoring end, with West Coast piling on five unanswered goals.

The Crows fell away completely, struggling to win the ball and turning it over when they had possession.

Adelaide managed only two behinds for the term and memories of the club's capitulations against North Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions in the last two weeks resurfaced.

Experienced heads Scott Thompson, Graham Johncock, Richard Douglas and Brent Reilly, and promising young players Rory Sloane and Jared Petrenko lifted to at least help the Crows respond in the third term.

However, the home team managed only two goals in the final quarter - at the end where only four goals had been kicked for the game - and the Eagles piled on 6.6 to secure a comfortable win.

Influential players
Scott Thompson was Adelaide's leading possession-getter (26), but wasn't as effective as in recent weeks. Douglas and Bernie Vince provided a spark in the third quarter, and Petrenko played his best game in Crows colours, finishing with 17 disposals and two clearances in a midfield role.

What it means
Adelaide's long season continues. The club is on track to miss the finals for consecutive seasons for the first time under Craig, and could now be without Tippett for an extended period of time.

The next four
Adelaide: Western Bulldogs (Etihad Stadium), Geelong (Skilled Stadium), Sydney Swans (AAMI Stadium), Bye

What the coach said
Neil Craig (Adelaide): "In comparison to the last two weeks we saw some good signs, but it was still nowhere near to the standard that we want. The first quarter and the third quarter were our two best quarters for the last three weeks. We've got to make sure we don't settle for two quarters here and there. We need to keep working hard."

Adelaide        3.1   3.3   8.5   10.7  (67)
West Coast   1.3   8.7   9.10   15.16  (106)

GOALS
Adelaide: Wright 2, Douglas 2, Gunston 2, Sloane 2, Vince, Dangerfield
West Coast: LeCras 5, Nicoski 3, Rosa 2, Naitanui, Cox, Priddis, Shuey, Kennedy

BEST
Adelaide: S. Thompson, Dangerfield, Petrenko, Johncock, Sloane, Douglas, Vince
West Coast: Kerr, Rosa, Hurn, Embley, Naitanui, Nicoski, A Selwood

INJURIES
Adelaide: Gunston (finger), Dangerfield (thumb), Tippett (shoulder)
West Coast: Kerr (knee)

SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Kurt Tippett (shoulder) replaced by Brad Symes at half-time
West Coast: Chris Masten replaced by Brad Ebert in the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Rosebury, Leppard, Hay

Official crowd: 31,412 at AAMI Stadium

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL