A STUNNING third-quarter surge has delivered Melbourne the greatest win of Simon Goodwin's reign, upsetting ladder-leaders Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

The Demons (4-4) booted nine unanswered goals between the second and third terms on their way to a rousing 41-point victory against the Crows – 17.5 (107) to 9.12 (66) in front of a crowd of 47,882.

Demons co-captain Jack Viney (30 possessions), Clayton Oliver (30) and Christian Salem (31) were outstanding, Michael Hibberd (34) dominated proceedings from half-back and Bernie Vince, in his 200th game, did a superb negating job on former teammate and Brownlow Medal favourite Rory Sloane keeping him to just 11 disposals.

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Making the result all the more impressive was the Demons were a player down for most of the second half after defender Jayden Hunt copped a knock to the head.

Hunt was carted from the ground after he came off worse for wear in a collision with Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs, who had a massive 74 hit-outs.

Goodwin – in his first year in charge after taking over from Paul Roos – said the victory was another step in the team's development.

"It continues to build the belief in the pathway forward of what we're trying to create," Goodwin said.

"Most of the season we've been terrific in trying to establish the way we want to play.

"It hasn't always resulted in wins, but it's given us opportunities to win.

"I just thought the boys tonight were terrific.

"To be 24 points down and to fight back and to win like that was really pleasing."

Rory Laird (37 disposals) found plenty of the ball for the Crows while Matt and Brad Crouch were busy through the midfield.

After six straight wins to start the season, the Crows have now lost two in a row after last weekend's defeat to North Melbourne.

Five talking points: Adelaide v Melbourne

Jacobs had his way with makeshift ruckman Cameron Pedersen in the absence of injured duo Max Gawn and Jake Spencer, but the Demons held their own in the clearances.

Christian Petracca was everywhere, Cameron Pedersen was dangerous in attack with three goals and Tom McDonald presented a great target inside the forward 50 in the second half.


The Demons showed their intent from the opening bounce with physical pressure on Sloane. They tackled in packs and continually harassed the Crows, forcing them into uncharacteristic skill errors.

The Crows responded with a dominant second quarter, booting six unanswered goals to lead by as much as 22 points, but their desire to play through the corridor at every opportunity proved to be their downfall with several high-risk kicks resulting in turnovers.

The Demons booted nine straight goals to turn the game on its head, including a miracle effort from Oliver, who somehow won the ball in tight before kicking truly from the boundary line for a goal of the year contender.


The Demons out-tackled the Crows 33-18 to take a four-point lead into quarter-time.

It took a trademark piece of Eddie Betts magic, spinning on a dime before snapping from an acute angle, to spark the Crows into action in the second term before they faded badly after half-time.

 

"We knew it was going to be a fierce start, halfway through that second quarter the game was being played in our half and we were winning our share of the contest," Crows coach Don Pyke said.

"It was the three goals before half-time that kicked the door back open and our second half was just poor.

"All credit to Melbourne.

"Their contested stuff and their pressure around the ball was very good, and their ability to force the turnover was too good on the night."

In an unusual sight, the game finished with just two central umpires.

Craig Fleer suffered a concussion after a head clash with Vince, before his replacement, Rowan Hundertmark, couldn't continue in the last quarter.

MEDICAL ROOM
Melbourne: Demons half-back flanker Jayden Hunt was carted from the ground in the third quarter after taking a blow to the head from a collision with Crows ruckman Sam Jacobs. "He just suffered some concussion," Demons coach Simon Goodwin said. "He's up and moving around. I actually had a pretty reasonable conversation with him. He'll get assessed during the week and we'll see how he goes at the back-end of the week." 
Adelaide: Crows forward Troy Menzel didn't play in the fourth quarter after injuring his left groin, but the club doesn't believe it is anything serious. "I know he had some soreness, but I haven't caught up with the doctors yet to see if it is severe or not. From what I understand, there's not really much there," Crows coach Don Pyke said.

NEXT UP
The Crows hit the road to take on the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Demons have an eight-day break before they take on North Melbourne at the MCG next Sunday.


ADELAIDE     1.4   6.7   7.8    9.12 (66)
MELBOURNE  2.2   5.3  12.5  17.5 (107)

GOALS
Adelaide: Walker 2, Betts 2, Jenkins 2, Laird, Atkins, Smith
Melbourne: Pedersen 3, T.McDonald 2, Bugg 2, Jones 2, Garlett 2, Kent 2, Viney, Oliver, Petracca, Hannan

BEST
Adelaide: Laird, Jacobs, Atkins
Melbourne: Viney, T.McDonald, Salem, Oliver, Vince, Petracca, Jones, Hibberd

INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Melbourne: Hunt (concussion)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Kamolins, Fleer (replaced in second quarter by Hundertmark), Ryan

Official crowd: 47,882