Adelaide is on top of the ladder for the first time since it won the minor premiership last year, after thrashing the Kangaroos by 56 points at Telstra Dome on Sunday.

The Crows 18.8 (116) defeated the Roos 9.6 (60) to notch up their sixth win of the season - and fifth in succession - to further enhance the team's reputation as a genuine premiership threat.

Adelaide set up the victory with a scintillating first term. Officially, it was the club's greatest start to a match since it entered the competition in 1991, eclipsing its previous best (8.4.52) against Fremantle in round 22, 2002.

Although the Kangaroos registered the first score of the match - a rushed behind inside the opening 30 seconds - it proved to be the only time the home side held the lead all day.

Scott Thompson kicked off proceedings and by the end of the quarter the Crows had 9.2 to its name, while the Kangaroos could muster just one goal via Corey Jones at the 25-minute mark.

And aside from a second quarter lapse, Adelaide dominated the rest of the match, booting nine goals to four in the second half. Three of those four Kangaroos' goals were the final three of the match.

Adelaide skipper Mark Ricciuto continued his great form at the Dome, booting five goals in a terrific performance. He has played every match Adelaide has played at Docklands, and has now booted 34 in his 22 matches at the venue.

High-flyer Brett Burton was also lively in front of goal, bagging four majors and taking 11 marks, while Trent Hentschel was a strong target up forward, finishing with three goals and eight grabs.

Midfielder Simon Goodwin continued his Brownlow-like form with another outstanding display. He finished the match with 28 disposals to surely earn further votes for this year's 'Charlie'.

Jess Sinclair racked up 34 disposals - a game-high - after starting on the bench, while Daniel Wells (30 touches), Daniel Harris (26 possessions) and Josh Gibson were the others to stand out for the Kangaroos.

By the first break, Adelaide led by a whopping 49 points, while Burton and Ricciuto had three goals each to their names and Goodwin had 12 touches in a super display.

But Adelaide's dominant play was quelled significantly in a remarkable second term. Not only did the Kangaroos outscore the Crows, they held the visitors goalless in a stunning reversal of form. Adelaide posted just one behind via late inclusion Jason Porplyzia.

The likes of Sinclair (12 disposals for the quarter), Harris (10) and Wells (10) shone for the Roos, while it was their ability to stymie Adelaide's run and purpose that was equally impressive.

But if the scoreline was not intriguing enough - the Kangaroos booted five goals to cut the deficit back to 24 points at half-time - it was the manner in which the second quarter was played that was equally fascinating.

Remarkably, it wasn't until the 17-minute mark Adelaide entered its forward 50, which came after the Crows slowed the tempo and chipped the ball back and forth across half-back for a few minutes.

And when a decision was paid by field umpire Chris Kamolins to award a Kangaroos free-kick against Burton, who banged the ball at least 50 metres towards his side's attacking zone - parallel to the boundary line - it capped off a somewhat bemusing term.

But any thought of the Kangaroos' comeback continuing in the third term was thwarted by the Crows after the long break, when they booted four goals to one for the quarter to bounce back out to a 43-point lead.

Adding further salt into the wound for the Kangaroos was the injury to first-gamer Ben Schwarze, who was crunched in the ribs by Adelaide's Rhett Biglands as he attempted to take a hanger, just moments before the three quarter-time siren.

It became party time in the final term and when the siren sounded Adelaide had notched up its fifth consecutive victory at Telstra Dome.

For the Kangaroos, it was their fifth loss of the season - and third successive against Adelaide - while they have yet to defeat Crows in four attempts at the Dome.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig praised the Kangaroos' second quarter, despite his side's emphatic victory.

"I thought their lift and intensity was fantastic," Craig said.

"It was a big contrast and it caught our guys off guard and maybe as our intensity caught the opposition off guard in the first quarter, certainly their response caught us off guard and the reality was we weren't really able to recover until half-time on that, so I'd suggest a lot of the credit goes to the Kangaroos."

Dean Laidley lamented the first-quarter effort from his players that had the Kangaroos chasing the game all day.

"We just couldn't get our hands on the ball in the first quarter - they were exceptional in that area - it was 60 to nearly a 100 possessions," he said.

"There was probably a role reversal in the second quarter, but at the end of the day the (final) margin's nine goals and that's pretty much the first quarter which is disappointing.

"Our (poor) skill level at times and our inability to work hard off the ball at times were probably the most frustrating thing."


KANGAROOS: 1.1, 5.3, 6.5, 9.6 (60)
ADELAIDE: 9.2, 9.3, 13.6, 18.8 (116)
GOALS – Kangaroos: Thompson 2, Harding 2, Jones, Green, Hale, Petrie, McIntosh
Adelaide: Ricciuto 5, Burton 4, Hentschel 3, Biglands 2, Porplyzia 2, Doughty, Thompson
BEST – Kangaroos: Sinclair, Wells, Harris, Pratt, Harvey, Rawlings
Adelaide: Goodwin, Ricciuto, Burton, Biglands, Mattner, Thompson, Edwards, Johncock, Hentschel
INJURIES – Kangaroos: TBC
Adelaide: TBC
CHANGES - Adelaide: Bassett replaced in selected side by Porplyzia, Bode replaced in selected side by Knights
REPORTS - Nil
UMPIRES - Schmitt, Kamolins, McInerney
CROWD - 16,064 at Telstra Dome