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 also booted two in his return to the Crows’ forward line.
Pinch-hitting midfielder Daniel Giansiracusa was instrumental with 30 possessions and a goal and 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, while Nathan Bock, Scott Stevens, Graham Johncock and Ben Rutten, who held Barry Hall goalless for just the second time this season, were also good.
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.
There was just one goal - to Bulldogs forward Jarrad Grant -scored in the final quarter, which was enough to give the premiership fancies a vital win.
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.
