ADELAIDE'Sinspirational captain Mark Ricciuto and his band of elder statesmen havecombined to crush Hawthorn by 71 points in their clash at AAMI Stadium.
Ricciuto kicked four goals as the Crows flew from ninthplace on the ladder to fifth with the resounding 15.12 (102) to 4.7 (31)victory.
The second-placed Hawks were outplayed in all facets sufferinga lamentable night, unable to crack the code of Adelaide's miserly defence led by a sublimeAndrew McLeod.
The veteran midfielder simply lapped up the freedom in aninstrumental 39-possession best-on-ground performance.
His fellow 30-year-old Tyson Edwards amassed a stunning 41possessions, and with the 31-year-old Ricciuto's bag of goals, the veteran triocrushed Hawthorn from the outset.
The Crows notched the initial four goals of the game,despite kicking into a strong wind, and their 4.2 to 1.2 quarter-time lead was asign of things to come.
Adelaide'stackling pressure suffocated the Hawks, whose skills wilted as they fell33-points behind at half-time.
Hawthorn's hopes of a wind-assisted revival in the thirdterm were snuffed as the home side delighted a parochial 34,733 home crowd withthree consecutive majors which established an irreversible 55-point advantage.
Ricciuto, in his fourth game back from a nine-month injuryabsence, kicked the first goal of the match and his four majors matched theentire tally from an error prone Hawthorn.
Playing at full forward, the Brownlow medallist led andmarked strongly and found able attacking allies in Ken McGregor, Nathan Bockand Scott Welsh, who each chipped in with two goals.
The Crows' forward line feasted on a frequent supply fromthe likes of Edwards and his onball colleagues Scott Thompson, whose 100th gamereaped 39 disposals, Chris Knights (33 touches) and Simon Goodwin (33), who wasa creative force in his return from knee injury.
In stark contrast, Hawthorn's gun goalsneak Lance Franklinwas starved of opportunities and held to just one goal and five possessions byhis unheralded opponent, Kris Massie.
Veteran Shane Crawford gave a spirited display while JordanLewis and Ben McGlynn were other Hawks who battled gamely against anoverwhelming Adelaideoutfit.
ADELAIDE 4.2 8.6 11.10 15.12 (102)
HAWTHORN 1.1 3.3 4.4 4.7 (31)
GOALS - Adelaide: M Ricciuto 4, K McGregor 2, S Welsh 2,N Bock 2, I Maric 2, S Goodwin, T Edwards, C Knights. Hawthorn: B McGlynn, LFranklin, J Roughead, T Croad.
BEST - Adelaide: A McLeod, M Ricciuto, T Edwards, SThompson, G Johncock, C Knights, S Goodwin. Hawthorn: R Ladson, S Crawford, BMcGlynn, G Birchall, J Lewis.
Umpires: D Margetts S RyanK Nichols
Official crowd: 34,733 atAAMI Stadium.
INJURIES - Adelaide:J Porplyzia (hamstring). Hawthorn: C Bateman (leg), D Jacobs (heavyknock).
Reports: Nil.
