The pace of the game slowed to a crawl at times with Richmond's strategy to hold up play and wait for a marking option to present itself frustrating Adelaide’s attempts to open the game up.
Both sides struggled to find rhythm early with play surprisingly scrappy despite excellent conditions for football. Turnovers were the order of the day with neither side able to mount a successful attack on goal in the first 10 minutes of play.
Livewire wingman Brett Burton started the ball rolling for Adelaide 11 minutes in when he goaled from a set shot 40 metres out on a tight angle. The Crows looked ready to break the shackles when ruckman Rhett Biglands snapped truly soon after, but Matthew Richardson answered with Richmond’s first goal of the evening with 21 minutes gone to keep the Tigers in touch.
The Crows led by 14 points at the first break and got the start they were after in the second term when Scott Welsh got on the end of a wayward Mark Ricciuto shot on goal and converted from the edge of the goal square.
However, it was to be Adelaide’s only goal for the quarter as the Tigers stifled Adelaide’s midfield movement and added two goals of their own through Matthew Rogers and Chris Newman.
Richmond had clawed the deficit back to eight points at the main break and stuck to its game-plan of restricting Adelaide’s run as the third quarter progressed.
Welsh’s second goal was quickly followed by Richardson’s second and third - the big forward starting to get the best of his battle with Nigel Smart – to narrow the margin to four points.
Neither side bothered the scorer for the next 10 minutes as each struggled to impose its own style on the game. Adelaide needed something special and Burton provided the spark with a bouncing goal from a huge pack of players 35 metres out to push the margin out to 11 points at the last break.
Wayne Carey gave his side a 17-point buffer two minutes into the final term while the Tigers were left to rue a bad miss from a set shot by Rogers soon after.
The frustration that had been simmering most of the night boiled over at the six-minute mark with an ugly melee breaking out on centre wing. An Ian Perrie free kick was picked out the mess and led to a Ricciuto mark just on 50 - the captain kicking truly to effectively seal the game for Adelaide.
ADELAIDE: 3.3, 4.7, 6.10, 10.12 (72)
RICHMOND: 1.1, 3.5, 5.5, 6.8 (44)
Goals: Adelaide: Welsh 2, Burton 2, Bickley, Ricciuto, Carey, Biglands, Burns, Stenglein. Richmond: Richardson 3, Tivendale, Newman, Rogers .
Best: Adelaide: Ricciuto, Bassett, Ladhams, Edwards, Burton, Johncock, Bode. Richmond: Campbell, Coughlan, Tivendale, Richardson, Kellaway.
Crowd: 44,809
Injuries: Richmond: Zantuck (ankle), Bowden (corked thigh).
Reports: Adelaide: Perrie (Adel) reported for striking Fleming by umpire Vozzo.
Umpires: Vozzo, Rowston, Morris.
At AAMI Stadium
