Adelaide unleashed a dominant first half to open up a 30-point lead over West Coast in Saturday night’s AFL clash at Patersons Stadium.
The Crows booted four goals to nil in the opening term, and kept West Coast at bay in the second quarter to enter the long break with the 8.7 (55) to 3.7 (25) advantage.
Both sides had their finals hopes extinguished 40 minutes before the first bounce when Carlton came from behind to beat Port Adelaide by one point at AAMI Stadium.
West Coast forward Jack Darling was a late scratching, with his partner in crime Josh Kennedy held goalless in the opening half.
Adelaide’s midfielders were prominent, with Brad Crouch, Patrick Dangerfield, Richard Douglas and Scott Thompson all tallying 15 possessions in the first half.
Douglas was looking for a place to hide in the second minute after kicking the ball into the post from 1m out while running into an open goal.
But the blooper was soon forgotten as the Crows booted four unanswered goals to take a 25-point lead into quarter time.
The Eagles had to wait until 10 minutes into the second quarter before registering their first goal, with a beautiful tap-back from Dean Cox allowing Ash Smith to stroll in.
West Coast second-gamer Simon Tunbridge celebrated his first career goal with a clever snap from 45m later in the term.
But Adelaide always had West Coast’s measure, and entered the long break in complete control.