Crows stay in form with win over Blues

Adelaide will start the AFL finals at home and in great form after blitzing Carlton
by 72 points at Etihad Stadium.
The Blues started the match well, with five of the first six goals, before the Crows
took complete control and won 27.14 (176) to 16.8 (104).
The win guaranteed Adelaide fifth spot, meaning they will host Essendon in an
elimination final next weekend, while the Blues will play Brisbane in the other
sudden-death match.
Adding icing to Adelaide's impressive team performance, veteran forward Brett Burton
showed he has lost none of his spring, taking a classic flying pack mark late in the
third quarter which will be hard to beat for mark of the year.
But the facet of the game that would have most delighted Crows coach Neil Craig is
the way his players combined as a unit both to run the ball into attack in waves and
choke the Blues for space when they were in possession.
Adelaide, whose win gave them seven straight victories over Carlton, were repeatedly
able to score goals by forcing the Blues into turnovers as they tried to break from
defence.
Three times in a row late in the second quarter, the Crows scored a behind, then
followed it up by winning the ball straight back from the Carlton kick-in to score a
goal.
Bernie Vince kicked the first two of those, both goals coming on the run, to give
him three majors for the half, as well as being a prolific possession-winner.
Patrick Dangerfield added the next, giving the Crows a run of 3.3 to no score to
turn a four-point advantage into a 25-point buffer, after the Blues had led by 11
points early in the second quarter.
The pattern continued into the third term, with Adelaide kicking seven of the first
eight goals, several of them also by winning the ball from the Blues deep in
defence, to push 58 points ahead and seal the win.
Spearhead Brendan Fevola was one Carlton player who could hold his head up, with
five goals, to take him to 86 for the season, and a commanding 11-goal lead over
Brisbane's Jonathan Brown in the Coleman Medal race, ahead of the Lions' match
against Sydney on Saturday night.
Midfielder Bryce Gibbs performed well, while for Adelaide, Vince was superb, Graham
Johncock and Andrew McLeod gave great run from defence, while Jason Porplyzia and
Kurt Tippett impressed in attack.
The only down note for Adelaide was an early injury to Nathan Van Berlo, who did not
return after quarter time.