A wayward Brisbane have given Adelaide a sniff before prevailing by 37 points in an AFL win punctuated by more injury concerns for captain Dayne Zorko.
The hosts dominated on Sunday afternoon to lead by 40 points at halftime at the Gabba, but were almost made to pay for their wastefulness when the winless Crows kicked four-unanswered goals to get within 16 in the third term.
But, after seven-consecutive behinds, Brisbane’s Zac Bailey kicked straight and Daniel Rich skipped one through from 60 metres out as the hosts shot away to a 10.23 (83) to 7.4 (46) win.
Lachie Neale (0.5) and Hugh McLuggage (1.5) managed 10 behinds between them to offset an inside-50 count more than double that of their rivals.
A third-straight victory moves Brisbane (3-1) to equal second on the ladder behind the unbeaten Port Adelaide, who are relishing their Gold Coast hub experience ahead of their date next Saturday with the Power at the Gabba.
Zorko missed last week’s defeat of West Coast with a similar injury and his return was short-lived, limping off to have his calf strapped as halftime loomed and not returning.
Rival skipper Rory Sloane looked to roll his ankle but completed the game, while second-gamer Will Hamill (concussion) was a casualty and emerging forward Darcy Fogarty was a late scratching after hurting his shoulder on Friday at training.
Those injuries heaped more misery on a Crows side, flogged last week by Gold Coast and still facing two more weeks in their Queensland hub.
Brisbane showed no sympathy early, handling some early Crows starch before kicking away thanks to grunt work from Mitch Robinson (12 contested possessions), Jarryd Lyons (24 disposals), Neale (31 touches) and defender Ryan Lester.
Former Crow Charlie Cameron enjoyed the return of 8312 vocal fans, taking a huge final-quarter mark and employing his trademark handlebars celebration after a second goal.
Lincoln McCarthy was the early target up front, twice marking strongly to produce goals while Eric Hipwood (two goals) was also accurate.
Their pressure dropped in the third term, under-fire Crows forward Taylor Walker kicking two goals and setting up another to flip the script.
That spurt gave Crows fans something to cheer about before normal service resumed in the final term, Cam Ellis-Yolmen profiting with a late goal against his former club.