Crows work to see off injury-hit 'Roos

Adelaide consolidated a place in the AFL top eight with a hard-earned 44-point
victory over North Melbourne at a sodden AAMI Stadium on Sunday evening.

The Crows kept the Kangaroos at arm's length for three slogging quarters before a
powerful last term saw them run away to win 9.14 (68) to 3.6 (24) in front of 30,173
hardy spectators.
Centreman Scott Thompson maintained his rich vein of form with a consummate midfield
display while Nathan Bock and Jason Porplyzia (three goals) also contributed
strongly.
North Melbourne had plenty of triers on the night but were again hit hard by injury;
AFL rising star favourite Jack Ziebell was taken to hospital with a serious leg
problem while Lindsay Thomas limped off late with what appeared to be a hamstring
strain.
Fringe Crow Brent Reilly continued his up and down season by also suffering a
hamstring complaint, which kept him out of action after halftime.
Both sides had numerous notable omissions before the bounce, Crows Simon Goodwin and
Richard Douglas joined on the sidelines by Graham Johncock after he withdrew with a
cold.
The Kangaroos were lacking Brent Harvey and Daniel Wells, among a handful of others,
and their chances of beating an in-form Adelaide hinged on an ability to outwork the
home side on an evening of cold and rain.
For much of the first they held their own at the contests, as players flew into
numerous slippery packs, but the Crows possessed the little bit of extra poise
needed to score.
They managed to kick two goals before the first of the weather arrived and a
scattering of points pushed the margin to 16 as North were unable to mount a
successful attacking foray.
Corey Jones broke the drought within a minute of the re-start but, though the
visitors would have a little more of the play in the second, they would still go
into halftime 16 points back after Knights switched from finisher to architect with
a beautifully weighted pass to Jason Porplyzia.
Adelaide stretched their lead by another goal in the third, another slogging quarter
in which conditions began to take a toll on the players.
Reilly and Ziebell fell foul of injury during the term and the Crows were grateful
for Porplyzia's goals, one an opportunist snap and the other a typically calm set
shot after finding space.
Thomas notched the first goal of the last to give the Kangaroos the faintest
glimmer, but Adelaide's overall superiority was confirmed by a quartet of goals to
Bock, Kurt Tippett, Taylor Walker and Bernie Vince.
The result took the Crows into the mid-year break on the back of four consecutive
wins and firming as one of the league's more upwardly mobile teams in the second
half of 2009.