Adelaide has survived a final quarter onslaught inspired by former Richmond big man Brad Ottens to beat Geelong by two points in a thrilling Wizard Regional Challenge match at Port Lincoln on Saturday.

Ottens booted four goals in the final quarter as the Cats came from 40 points down early in the final term to hit the front for the first time with minutes to play.

But a hurried snap by Crows youngster Ben Hudson saw Adelaide home 12.16 (88) to 13.8 (86) in front of more than 7,000 fans.

The Cats looked gone after Trent Hentschel kicked the opening goal of the final quarter and at that stage, Mark Thompson's side had only kicked six goals all day.

But then, step forward Ottens, who on this performance looks capable of giving the Cats the kind of match-winner they have lacked so badly in attack in recent years.

After being largely unsighted for three quarters, his strong marking in the final term almost saw the Cats steal a victory which would have been hard on the Crows, who were the better side for most of the day.

The Crows are starting a new era under coach Neil Craig as they seek replacements for retirees Wayne Carey, Nigel Smart and Ronnie Burns as well as new Eagle Tyson Stenglein.

But in Jacob Schuback, Ben Rutten, newcomer Nathan Van Berlo, as well as Hentschel and Hudson, the Crows' next crop of players showed plenty of promise.

In fact, had Adelaide not started the game with seven successive behinds before Geelong had even scored, the match could have been over by quarter time.

Missing Simon Goodwin, Mark Stevens, Tyson Edwards and Rhett Biglands, the Crows broke the game open with five goals-to-one in the third term.

With Jason Torney and Graham Johncock providing plenty of run off half-back, the Crows moved the ball impressively in the third term with skipper Mark Ricciuto dominating as usual.

Schuback, who has managed just seven games, despite being drafted way back in 2001, booted three goals, while Van Berlo, the Crows' second pick last November, looked impressive.

The Cats were missing Steven King, Darren Milburn, Joel Corey, Brenton Sanderson and Peter Riccardi, and gave Tom Lonergan, Mark Blake and Brent Prismall their first taste of senior football.

The Cats would also have been delighted with the form of Cameron Mooney in defence while James Kelly again moved well as he continued his comeback from a knee injury.

Craig said afterwards he was pleased with his side's performance.

"The way the game went, it was probably pretty important for us to get over the line in the end," Craig said.

"The way we played for the first three quarters will give us a lot of confidence."

ADELAIDE: 2.8, 5.11, 10.15, 12.16 (88)
GEELONG: 1.1, 5.5, 6.5, 13.8 (86)

GOALS – Adelaide: Schuback 3, Ricciuto 2, Hentschel 2, Van Berlo, Hudson, Perrie, Ladhams, Bock
Geelong: Ottens 4, Bartel 2, Chapman 2, Ling 2, Byrnes, Kingsley, Ablett
BEST – Adelaide: Ricciuto, Torney, Reilly, Schuback, Hudson, Johncock
Geelong: Mooney, Hunt, Ling, Ottens, Kelly, Bartel
INJURIES – Adelaide: None
Geelong: None
REPORTS - None
CROWD - 7662 at Centenary Oval, Port Lincoln