CARLTON has consigned Adelaide to a 0-2 start, clearly a step above the Crows in its 27-point win at Ikon Park.

The Blues led for the entire match, and capitalised on some shaky Crows disposal when attempting to clear the footy from danger zones to record the 7.8 (50) to 3.5 (23) victory.

BLUES v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

Adelaide may be a team in transition, but its defence led by Sarah Allan, Chelsea Biddell and new half-back Eloise Jones remains as steady and experienced as ever, repelling a number of Carlton forward forays throughout the game.

But the Crows' entries into their own attacking 50 left much to be desired, with high hooping kicks easily picked off by the equally tight-knit Carlton backline, and too often the diminutive Christina Leuzzi was picked out as the target sitting under the footy.

In an attempt to employ new coach Ryan Davis' fresh game plan, the Crows became too corridor-happy in the first half, continually trying to pull of risky kicks regardless of the game situation.

At half-time, Adelaide actually led the inside 50 count by one, despite trailing by 15 points and having conceded five more scoring shots, and it was a sharper visiting side who came out after the main break.

Maddi Newman dominated on the wing in the third term with 11 touches and a goal (finishing with 30), dragging her side back into the mix, but Carlton did enough to maintain a two-goal buffer heading into the final quarter.

"Their (Carlton's) ability to spread from contest, and ours (inability) to snap and seal and force them into more of a long down the line game was probably where they got us," Adelaide coach Davis said.

"We were plus-12 inside forward 50s, but I think they were still too shallow, and their defensive unit gets back and covers really well, so definitely a hard game for our forwards. We do need to look at getting some entries better to their advantage and give them the best look they can get."

Darcy Vescio put in a claim for a mark of the year nomination with a classic hanger, launching off the back of Niamh Kelly in the second term.

Adelaide spearhead Caitlin Gould was well held by Maddy Hendrie, who had recovered from an ankle injury suffered in the round one match a fortnight ago in order to play.

Carlton speedster Erone Fitzpatrick had a very hot start on the wing with 10 disposals in the first quarter, and finished with 29 and three behinds for the match, rotating to half-forward, while Claudia Whitfort (23, five clearances) and Mimi Hill (28 and three) were strong in the stoppages and Nell Morris-Dalton booted three, all from the goal-square.

Ebony Marinoff (30, four clearances) battled hard through the middle of the ground, but didn't have nearly enough support.

Carlton coach Mathew Buck was pleased with the maturity shown by his side.

"Credit to Adelaide, I thought across the whole game they brought a lot of pressure. Our team had to show a lot of resilience throughout each quarter, I thought, to defend hard at different times," Buck said.

"That required some strong contest effort round the middle of the ground, but also for our defenders to get the job done. To their credit, I thought they held up well."

Does the stuttering Adelaide attack need some stability?
It was always going to be a tricky changeover period for Davis to manage, but he would have been counting on having Chelsea Randall (concussion-enforced retirement during pre-season), the pregnant Danielle Paredes (née Ponter) and India Rasheed (conditioning block) in his forward line. Jones has been moved to defence to help shore things up and rebound, but given her marking prowess, is it a change that needs to be reversed?

Carlton belongs in the top echelon
While this Adelaide isn't the old AFLW powerhouse we've come to know over the first decade of the competition, there's still plenty of wise, premiership-hardened players scattered among the 21. Carlton is looking to back up its preliminary final exploits last year, and were tougher and disciplined for far longer against the Crows. The deepened midfield is humming, and there are plenty of options in attack. The Blues are looking dangerous indeed.

Up next
Adelaide face the under-fire West Coast on Saturday afternoon at Unley Oval, while Carlton heads west to take on Fremantle at Cockburn ARC Oval.

CARLTON      1.4     3.5     5.6     7.8 (50)
ADELAIDE     0.0     1.2     3.5     3.5 (23)

GOALS
Carlton: Morris-Dalton 3, Whitfort, Duursma, Finn, Vescio
Adelaide: Gould, Newman, Goodwin

BEST
Carlton: Fitzpatrick, Hill, Whitfort, Finn, Morris-Dalton, Hendrie
Adelaide: Newman, Marinoff, Biddell, Jones, Goodwin

INJURIES
Carlton: Nil
Adelaide: Nil

Crowd: 2012 at Ikon Park