An aggressive Adelaide outfit has redeemed themselves in the Grand Final rematch, downing the reigning premiers in Richmond by 36 points in front of 49,743 at Adelaide Oval.
Taylor Walker and Josh Jenkins starred up forward with four and five goals respectively, while Rory Laird dominated in all areas of the ground with a whopping 42 touches.
While the Tigers - led by Dustin Martin's five-goal haul and 25 disposals - put up a vigilant performance against Adelaide, they were unable to contain the Crows' yearning to rectify their Grand Final defeat from last year.
Richmond got proceedings underway early, after Shane Edwards won the ball from a stoppage and dribbled the ball along the boundary to open the Tigers' scoring account.
But the Crows soon hit back with a goal to Josh Jenkins, who had missed his first only moments beforehand.
As the two sides went goal for goal, Jenkins continued his stellar quarter, much to the disappointment of opponent Alex Rance, who by the end of the quarter had failed to touch the ball, conceded three goals and had given away three free kicks.
Jenkins conversely surpassed his less-than-memorable Grand Final figures, with seven disposals and two goals by the end of the term to give the Crows a two-point lead at quarter-time.
Despite their lead at the first break, six lead changes in the first quarter alone emphasised the Tigers' refusal to bow out of the heated contest.
While the Crows showed their aggression early, the Tigers showed their class.
In an act of unselfishness and skill, Jack Riewoldt lowered his eyes in the pocket and intricately speared the ball to the ever-dangerous Dustin Martin, who marked and duly converted with less than a minute on the clock.
Although the Tigers were able to hit the scoreboard from stoppages, their inability to take marks - particularly inside the 50 - looked to be an area for concern, with only two marks being taken inside the forward 50 for the term.
The tight contest carried well into the second quarter - albeit it being a term of two halves - with the Crows' 7.0 unable to truly put away the Tigers, who in the latter stages of the term piled on 5.2.
The Crows flew off to a perfect start at the beginning of the second, slotting three straight goals against the stunned Tigers.
Youngster Lachlan Murphy kicked back-to-back majors to propel the Crows further in front in the opening two minutes, but not before Rance conceded yet another free kick to give Jenkins his third.
Rance's nightmare continued as Jenkins kicked yet another; the competition's best defender unable to stop the key forward who so desperately wanted redemption following his dismal 2017 Grand Final performance.
But Adelaide's early dominance soon came to a halt, as the Crows had to contend with not only their resurgent opposition, but more injury woes of their own.
Matt Crouch was forced to sit the rest of the game out following an injury to his left hamstring, while fellow midfielder Rory Sloane suffered a foot strain.
Although Sloane returned to the field, the midfielder had difficulty executing his trademark smooth style of the play during the quarter.
With their two key distributors off the field, the Tigers began to claw their way back into the contest, booting five goals to wrestle the momentum back in their favour.
Martin again was the saving grace for Richmond, booting two spectacular goals to keep the Tigers afloat.
Even though it looked easy for Adelaide at times - with Taylor Walker kicking two goals effortlessly, one of which included a nonchalant one-handed mark and casual conversion - the Tigers, led by Martin, refused to back down.
The Brownlow medallist ended the quarter with 17 touches, six clearances, four inside 50s and two goals, dramatically nullifying the impact of the Crows' seven-goal term and keeping his side two straight kicks away at the main change.
Still aggrieved by their Grand Final defeat last year, the Crows were determined to shut Richmond out in the third term, kicking 3.3 to the Tigers' 1.5.
While Alex Rance (19 disposals) finally broke his chains with a six-mark quarter, Adelaide managed to extend their lead with majors to Darcy Fogarty, Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Hugh Greenwood.
An injury sscare to Daniel Talia had Adelaide fans panicking as their injury list looked like deepening even further, but the stalwart defender soon found himself back on the field to limit the Tigers' scoring.
The Crows' ability to mark the ball proved to get the better of the Tigers; the 82-38 advantage by three-quarter time allowing them to dictate the play on their terms and subsequently annul the Richmond press.
With a 22-point deficit heading into the final quarter, it would need something special for Richmond to outperform to aggressive Crows.
And who better to take up the challenge than Dustin Martin.
Back-to-back goals to Martin brought the margin back to a meagre nine points, as the Tigers roared back to life in an attempt to snatch back the lead.
But Martin's efforts would be the only majors to show for a late Richmond fightback, as Adelaide continued their unrelenting pressure.
Richmond crumbled as a shank off the boot of David Astbury went sideways into Adelaide's forward half of the ground, before being gobbled up by Walker who punished the Tigers for their terrible blunder.
As Adelaide continued to pile on even more goals from Walker, Jenkins and Sloane, the Tigers were unable to wrestle back the ball, let alone get it into their forward half to score.
The Crows continued their dominance around the ground, leading the possession count by 140, contested possessions by 44 and inside 50 count by 15.
With a convincing 36-point win, the Crows will undoubtedly feel a massive weight being lifted off their shoulders after finally managing to exact their revenge following their Grand Final humiliation.
With their demons from last year well and truly shaken off, the Crows will head into round 3 to face the spirited St Kilda, while a shattered Richmond will seek redemption against Hawthorn at the MCG.
ADELAIDE 4.4 11.4 14.7 18.10 (118)
RICHMOND 4.2 9.4 10.9 12.10 (82)
GOALS
Adelaide: Jenkins 5, Walker 4, Sloane 2, Murphy 2, Fogarty 2, Greenwood, Gibbs, Ellis-Yolmen
Richmond: Martin 5, Caddy 3, Townsend, Edwards, Lambert, Bolton
BEST
Adelaide: Laird, Jenkins, Walker, Sloane, Seedsman, Kelly
Richmond: Martin, Caddy, Edwards, Nankervis, Short
INJURIES
Adelaide: Crouch (hamstring), Mackay (concussion), Sloane (foot)
Richmond: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. ADELAIDE GOT THEIR REVENGE AND WERE JUST TOO GOOD
It was a long off-season for Adelaide, with controversial training camps, key departures and rumoured internal disputes all lingering around their humiliating Grand Final defeat.
But all the anger was channelled into producing a much-desired win, as the Crows simply outworked, outplayed and outclassed the Tigers in all areas of the ground.
The Crows controlled the play for majority of proceedings, having 140 more possessions than the Tigers, allowing them to attain a sound 36-point victory.
The experienced leaders who went missing in the Grand Final all rose to the occasion to finally cast aside the horrors of 2017's premiership defeat.
2. DUSTIN MARTIN DOMINATES WITH LITTLE SUPPORT
Yet again, Dustin Martin proved he is the best player in the competition.
In a game where no one else from the Tigers stood out, Martin racked up 25 possessions and five goals to give his side a fighting chance.
Had anyone else in the Tiger Army been half as influential as Martin was tonight, the Tigers may have stood a chance at stealing a win late - but even the AFL's MVP can't carry an entire team.
Martin's two goals in the final quarter were immediately soured following crucial blunders from his teammates, ultimately putting the game out of their reach.
Dustin, be proud of your efforts - the other 21 Tigers can't say the same.
3. JENKINS RISES AS RANCE FALTERS
Following an abysmal Grand Final performance last year, Josh Jenkins finally returned to his brilliant best with a five-goal haul.
Jenkins exceeded his stats from the entire Grand Final in just the first quarter of tonight's rematch, being one of the best on ground for the Crows and dominating one-on-one contests with his size and strength.
The same can't be said for Alex Rance, who had nothing short of a shocker.
While he ended the game with 19 disposals - 15 of which were accumulated in the second half - Rance conceded five goals and four free kicks, and was kept to four touches by half-time.
Not a game to remember.
4. RICHMOND ERRORS PROVED COSTLY
Despite Dustin Martin bringing the Tigers back to within nine points in the final quarter thanks to back-to-back majors, the Tigers were unable to capitalise on their wave of momentum.
With a chance to move the ball up the ground, David Astbury's kick forward almost missed his boot completely as it went at a 90 degree angle into the lap of Taylor Walker, whose long bomb from 55m put the game out of reach.
Brandon Ellis followed up soon after, with his kick from the defensive 50 sailing out of bounds, allowing Rory Sloane to kick a remarkable goal from a set shot.
It's just two isolated incidents, but ones which could have spelled a different result for the match had they gone the Tigers' way.
5. CROWS' INJURY LIST GETS EVEN LONGER
A hamstring injury to ball-magnet Matt Crouch from tonight's win adds even more concern to Adelaide's lengthening injury list, with the midfielder set to miss a month of football.
With David Mackay also likely to miss next week due to concussion and Rory Sloane in discomfort with a foot complaint, the trio might join the likes of Tom Lynch, Curtly Hampton, Sam Gibson and Brad Crouch on the sidelines.
We've seen Darcy Fogarty fit seamlessly into the Adelaide line-up, but their depth will be truly questioned should these aforementioned stars be absent in next week's clash against St Kilda.
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