The margin never exceeded nine points in the hard-fought slog, with the Bulldogs leading by a solitary point at three-quarter time.
The desperate Crows threw everything at the Dogs in the final term, but couldn’t find an avenue to goal and a major to Jarrad Grant early in the piece was enough to secure the visitors’ fifth straight win, 8.13 (61) to 7.11 (53).
Second gamer Liam Jones (two goals) was the only multiple goalkicker for the visitors, while Jason Porplyzia booted two in his return to the Crows’ forward line.
Pinch-hitting midfielder Daniel Giansiracusa was instrumental with 30 possessions and a goal, while Nathan Eagleton (26 touches), Ryan Griffen (22 possessions, six tackles and a goal), Daniel Cross (25 possessions and seven clearances) and Brian Lake, who had the job on Kurt Tippett, were also among the Bulldogs’ best.
Scott Thompson (33 possessions, seven tackles and a goal) and Brad Symes (24 touches and 11 tackles) won their midfield battles for the Crows. Also good were Nathan Bock, Scott Stevens, Graham Johncock and Ben Rutten, who held Barry Hall goalless for just the second time this season.
It was a case of déjà vu for the inaccurate Crows in the first quarter, with the home side dominating general play but failing to capitalise on the scoreboard.
Adelaide managed just one goal from six scoring shots in the opening term, whereas the Dogs were on target at the other end.
The roles were reversed in the second quarter, with the Dogs contracting the Crows’ goalkicking yips.
The Bulldogs booted five behinds before Josh Hill, who was a late replacement for Robert Murphy, kicked the visitors’ first major of the term.
In contrast, the Crows - led by Brad Symes with 14 second-quarter possessions - kicked a respectable 4.2 to cut the lead to six points at half time.
The rain set in at the start of the third term and the scoring dried up as a result, with just three goals kicked for the quarter.
Grant's was the only goal of the final quarter - the result of several crucial clearances won by the Dogs.
“For three years now until this year we were the No.1 in contested ball and hard-ball gets in the competition," coach Rodney Eade said after the match.
"Because we can score quickly and we tend to run people think that’s the basis of our game. But the basis of our game is underpinned by our hardness and out willingness to get in first and is led by Matthew Boyd, Daniel Cross and those types of players.”
The Bulldogs’ prolonged effort in the wet on Sunday was even more significant, considering that several members of the team, including defenders Dale Morris, Lindsay Gilbee and Tom Williams, were affected by a virus.
“Surprisingly, I thought the Bulldogs actually handled the wet a bit better than us,” Adelaide coach Neil Craig said
“I thought if it did come in wet that we would be better adapted to that than they were, but I thought they were a bit better than us in moving the ball forward.
“We still tried to use too much handball, which is obviously fairly ingrained in us, but I thought that was the biggest difference in the end.”
Robert Murphy, Jarrad Harbrow and Shaun Higgins all missed the clash with the Crows because of illness, but Eade said he expected all three players, plus Callan Ward to be available to play against Geelong next week.
The Crows will prepare to take on the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba and are likely to again be without skipper Simon Goodwin (ankle) and Andrew McLeod (knee).
Adelaide 1.5 5.7 7.10 7.11 (53)
Western Bulldogs 3.1 6.7 7.11 8.13 (61)
GOALS
Adelaide: Porplyzia 2, Stevens, Thompson, van Berlo, Douglas, Tippett
Western Bulldogs: Jones 2, Johnson, Eagleton, Griffen, Hill, Giansiracusa, Grant
BEST
Adelaide: Thompson, Symes, Porplyzia, Rutten, Vince, Johncock, Stevens
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa, Eagleton, Boyd, Griffen, Cross, Lake, Hudson, Hargrave
Injuries: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Farmer, Kennedy, Mollison
Official crowd: 29,321 at AAMI Stadium
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
