ADELAIDE'S finals hopes have been extinguished by a 17-point loss to the rejuvenated Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday night.
Dogs pair Tory Dickson and Tom Campbell bagged 10 goals between them – comprising personal-best hauls of six and four respectively – to lift their side from a 22-point deficit late in the third term to win 20.11 (131) to 17.12 (114).
In a fluctuating shootout under the roof, the Bulldogs extended their lead to three goals on three separate occasions but looked gone when the Crows piled on six consecutive goals in the third term.
But the young Dogs responded with nine of the next 11 goals to celebrate Adam Cooney's 200th game in style against a team desperate to play finals.
The Bulldogs' turnaround in form has been stunning.
After being overrun by Melbourne in round 14, the Bulldogs were 16th with a 3-10 record, but have won four of their past seven games, including upsets of finals hopefuls West Coast, Carlton and now Adelaide.
Potential All Australian ruckman Will Minson dominated his opponent Sam Jacobs for much of the contest and often provided midfielders Tom Liberatore and Ryan Griffen with silver service at stoppages.
Dogs stoppers Mitch Wallis and Daniel Cross limited the effectiveness of Crows stars Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane, respectively.
Meanwhile, Crows skipper Nathan van Berlo had his hands full with Griffen, who was superb again as he continues his career-best season.
Bernie Vince (27 touches, one goal) and Andy Otten (three goals in attack) were among Adelaide's best contributors.
Proud Bulldogs coach Brendan McCartney said it was a good, hard-fought result for the club.
"They actually challenged us where we've been really strong and I guess that's the competition … we've been really dominant in some areas and they beat us at that for a fair bit of the game," he said post-match.
"In the last quarter we probably got back to what we do best and won some contests and got the ball in some space and converted pretty well."
Crows coach Brenton Sanderson said he was "really disappointed" about the manner in which his side played out the game.
"It's a loss that we shouldn't have had," he said.
"The Bulldogs are a good young side and they're playing some good footy, but when you get into positions like that, it's happening too much to our young team … it's something we've got to fix straight away."
The Bulldogs kicked two quick goals at the start of the third term to extend their lead to 17 points before the Crows took complete control, making the home side's effort to swing the pendulum all the more meritorious.
The Crows haven’t beaten the Dogs at Etihad Stadium since 2002, with the Bulldogs now stretching this winning streak to five games.
Next week the Dogs travel to the Gabba to take on the Brisbane Lions, while the Crows host Melbourne at AAMI Stadium.
Dogs ruckman Will Minson celebrates his goal from a ruck contest against Adelaide. Picture: AFL Media
WESTERN BULLDOGS 7.2 9.5 13.6 20.11 (131)
ADELAIDE 4.2 8.6 14.9 17.12 (114)
GOALS
Western Bulldogs: Dickson 6, Campbell 4, Giansiracusa 2, Cooney 2, Minson, Dahlhaus, Wood, Cross, Wallis, Stevens
Adelaide: Otten 3, Lynch 3, Callinan 3, Sloane 2, Vince, Dangerfield, van Berlo, Mackay, Douglas, Petrenko
BEST
Western Bulldogs: Liberatore, Wallis, Dickson, Campbell, Griffen, Boyd
Adelaide: Vince, Dangerfield, Sloane, Thompson, Douglas, Otten, Crouch
INJURIES
Western Bulldogs: Nil
Adelaide: Mitch Grigg (hip), replaced in selected side by Matthew Jaensch, Laird (concussion)
SUBSTITUTES
Western Bulldogs: Tom Young substituted out for Lachie Hunter in the third quarter
Adelaide: Matthew Jaensch substituted out for Sam Kerridge in the fourth quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Findlay, Harris, Pannell
Official crowd: 17,159 at Etihad Stadium
