Adelaide spearhead Taylor Walker faces a significant stint on the sidelines after injuring his right knee early in the 32-point loss to improving Carlton at the MCG on Saturday.
The Crows would have realised they were in for a tough afternoon when the Blues kicked the first three goals of the game.
But that difficult task became significantly harder when Walker was carried off midway through the opening term after landing awkwardly in a marking contest.
He was subbed out of the match almost immediately with what was suspected to be a posterior cruciate ligament injury.
Without their best key forward, Adelaide struggled for most of the day for goals.
But they did mount a brave challenge in the final term to get the margin down to as little as 17 points, before the Blues steadied to win 17.13 (115) to 12.11 (83).
Converted forward Chris Yarran kicked the sealer for the Blues with six minutes to go, curling home a clever right-footed effort from a tight angle.
The Blues got very little from their key forwards Sam Rowe and Shaun Hampson, but it mattered little as the likes of Jeff Garlett (four goals), Yarran (three) and Brock McLean (two) found other ways to score.
The Blues led by 28 points at the first change and increased the margin to 41 points at three-quarter time before Adelaide made their run.
Matthew Jaensch and Andy Otten were the Crows’ leading goalscorers with three apiece.
It was Carlton’s second win in succession after they had started the Mick Malthouse era with three straight losses.
Adelaide also have a 2-3 win-loss record heading into a tough clash against Hawthorn at AAMI Stadium next Saturday.
The Blues return to the MCG to take on struggling Melbourne in eight days’ time.