A blistering third term has helped Adelaide record its second SANFL victory of the season, defeating South Adelaide by 21 points at Noarlunga.
The Crows booted nine unanswered goals to set up the 17.8 (110) to 13.11 (89) win, reversing a 19-point deficit from midway through the second quarter.
Impressive left-footers Rory Atkins (29 disposals, ten marks) and Matt Crouch (24 disposals, three clearances) led the way for Adelaide, with the Crows recording 12 different goalkickers in a dominant offensive display.
Brent Reilly (28 disposals, five rebound 50ms, one goal) and Mitch Grigg (21 disposals, one goal) pushed their cases for an AFL recall, while ruckman Angus Graham (27 hitouts, two goals) was important for the Crows in the first half when the game was on the line.
Dashing midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen (22 disposals, eight clearances, three goals) also put his hand up for an AFL berth with another eye-catching performance.
It was a courageous victory by the Crows given Adelaide was reduced to just two fit players on the bench for the majority of the contest, after Shaun McKernan was felled by a poke to the eye early in the second quarter.
Key defender Sam Shaw was also a late withdrawal due to an illness. His replacement Gene Robinson excelled up forward with 23 possessions, an equal game-high 10 marks and two goals.
South Adelaide got the early jump on the Crows as Jake Veide booted three goals in the opening quarter.
Shaun McKernan and Angus Graham kept the Crows in touch however, slotting three goals between them to cut the deficit to just one point at quarter time.
The Panthers lifted in the second term and but could not take full advantage of a strong breeze blowing to the southern end of the ground. The home side snuck away to a 19-point lead when SANFL leading goalkicker Brett Eddy slotted his first at the 10-minute-mark.
Adelaide then turned the tide as Brent Reilly, Jake Kelly and Michael O’Malley took charge for the Crows across half back.
The tide quickly turned into a tsunami of Crow goals as Adelaide slotted 13 of the next 14 majors to take a match-winning 53-point advantage into the final break.
Ellis-Yolmen added two goals and Kelly slotted his first SANFL major during the Crows’ dynamite third-quarter charge.
The Panthers made a late push with the wind to kick six final-quarter goals, but could not bridge the gap as the Crows snapped a four-game losing streak to register their second win of the year.
Crows State League coach Heath Younie praised the effort of his experienced players in guiding his side home.
“I thought some of our senior guys in Porplyzia, Reilly and Angus Graham were really good early and kept us in the game,” Younie said.
“Those guys are the real leaders. They were the ones in the end who stood up in that third quarter.”
After the disappointment of missing selection to notch his 200th AFL game, Younie said veteran defender Brent Reilly showed his true class with an outstanding performance on the wide expanses of Noarlunga Oval.
“His attitude has been terrific, he knew he wasn’t playing as well as he should’ve been.
"I thought he was terrific today and he led the troops.”
ADELAIDE 3.1 7.2 16.6 17.9 (110)
SOUTH ADELAIDE 3.2 7.4 7.7 13.11 (89)
GOALS
Adelaide: Ellis-Yolmen 3, Graham 2, Davis-Neale 2, Robinson 2, McKernan, Osborn, Callinan, Spina, Kelly, Reilly, Petrenko, Grigg
South Adelaide: Veide 4, Eddy 2, Rolfe 2, Rose, Rankine, Dale, Macleod, Liddle
BEST
Adelaide: Ellis-Yolmen, Reilly, Robinson, Atkins, Knight, Graham, Petrenko
South Adelaide: Fields, Thewlis, Veide, Rolfe, Gotch
INJURIES
Adelaide: McKernan (eye)
South Adelaide: Nil
