Adelaide and St Kilda were both considered genuine premiership threats prior to the start of round one, but as both teams enter their mid-season break only the Crows can still carry their pre-season tag after dismantling the Saints by 63 points at Telstra Dome on Friday night.

The courage and character shown by the Saints in the mud and slush last week at the SCG was not evident at all against the Crows who were more prepared to run than their Victorian opponents as they stormed to a 18.15 (123) to 8.12 (60) victory.

To make matters worse for the Saints - who are already missing the likes of Justin Koschitzke, Aaron Hamill and Lenny Hayes - Max Hudghton limped off the ground after hurting his knee, while Robert Harvey did not appear after half-time.

Highlighting the contrast between the brave St Kilda side that faced Sydney and the one that was crushed by Adelaide was Aaron Fiora's woeful attempt to mark in the dying stages of the third term, the former Tiger choosing not to be strong in a marking contest with two Crows rushing towards him.

The Crows kicked the game's first five goals and the opening four majors of the second term, setting up a seven-goal advantage by the long break, and were never threatened by a disappointing Saints outfit which had just five goals on the board midway through the final quarter.

While beaten for hard-ball-gets, the Crows' running ability was again well demonstrated, Neil Craig's men cutting the Saints up with 55 loose-ball-gets to 31.

Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards were superb all night in the Crows' engine room, gathering 59 possessions between them, while lesser lights such as Martin Mattner and Kris Massie also flourished winning 27 and 21 disposals respectively.

For the Saints only Brendon Goddard, who touched the ball 33 times, and Steven Baker, with 21 disposals, could hold their heads high.

The Adelaide running machine sprung to life from the opening siren, showing a clean pair of heels to the Saints who may still have been shaking off the lethargy in their legs from last week's gutsy win.

Despite the absence of one of their best athletes in Brett Burton, the Crows ran the Saints off their feet early, with the likes of Matthew Bode, Michael Doughty and Mattner receiving good service from Edwards and Goodwin in close.

Playing on Nick Riewoldt, Scott Stevens kicked the game's first goal after a clever Goodwin handball and by the time Trent Hentschel had two majors next to his name the Crows were out to a 32-point lead.

The deficit could have been greater for the Saints, who were scoreless for the opening 15 minutes, had Bode not had two shots at goal touched on the line.

To the Saints' credit, they fought back late in the quarter with Stephen Milne and Goddard both on target from long range narrowing the margin to 20 points by the first change.

Adelaide opened the second term with a four-goal burst, each major reeking of class, none more so than McLeod's effort, the dual Norm Smith Medallist selling a dummy to Luke Ball before scoring a fine running goal from just inside the 50-metre arc.

Despite Goddard and Baker battling manfully, the Saints could not muster a meaningful response to the Crows' second onslaught and they headed into the long break staring down the barrel of a seven-goal deficit.

The margin was out to 54 points after Mark Ricciuto and Hentschel both marked and goaled inside the opening 10 minutes of the third quarter but the Saints then enjoyed their best period of play in the match.

Goals to Riewoldt and Milne trimmed the gap to 41 points and when Ben Rutten turned the ball over in his defensive half, the Saints were a chance to kick their third unanswered goal.

However, an errant Gehrig handball was fumbled by Milne and from the resultant turnover Bode ran unopposed into an open goal and the Saints' momentum was halted.

There was to be no miracle St Kilda revival in the final term as the Crows ran the game out strongly, kicking the last three majors of the game to blow the margin out beyond 10 goals.

Neil Craig was glowing in his praise after the win and he was particularly pleased with the ferocious manner in which his players hunted and tackled the St Kilda ball carriers.

"Considering the short break and the trip to Brisbane and injuries to Nathan van Berlo and Brett Burton, certainly our players need to be complimented on the way they performed - it was a very, very good win," he said.

"To take away people's time and space is important because - as we all find in any walk of life - to make a decision when you've got minimal time is difficult and it's no different in sport.

"It's an important part of our game and we want to make sure that it becomes cemented in the way we play, so it's just another area where we keep working on."

St Kilda coach Grant Thomas said his team compounded under Adelaide's exemplary tackling and pressure.

"I thought they hit us really hard and their tackling was superb and the pressure they put on us even made us compound a little bit when we didn't have any pressure on us," Thomas said.

"I think it was anticipated pressure from the pressure we had been getting so we told our players they are a very, very good pressure side and they work really hard. The way they tackled and the way they pressure at the contest was exemplary."

ST KILDA: 2.1, 3.7, 5.10, 8.12 (60)
ADELAIDE: 5.3, 10.7, 13.12, 18.15 (123)

GOALS – St Kilda: Riewoldt 2, Milne 2, Goddard, Gehrig, McQualter, Ackland
Adelaide: Hentschel 3, Ricciuto 2, Thompson 2, McGregor 2, Biglands 2, Reilly 2, Bode, Goodwin, Stevens, McLeod, Shirley
BEST – St Kilda: Goddard, Baker, Ball, Peckett, S Fisher
Adelaide: Goodwin, Massie, Edwards, Stevens, McLeod, Mattner, Johncock, Shirley, Reilly
INJURIES – St Kilda: Harvey (hamstring), Hudghton (corked thigh)
Adelaide: Nil
CHANGES - Adelaide: Burton (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Vince
REPORTS - Nil
UMPIRES - Vozzo, Meredith, McInerney
CROWD - 34,170 at Telstra Dome