Adelaide has put a dent in Geelong's September aspirations and kept their own slim chances alive following an intense 15-point victory over the Cats at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
The Crows and Cats were separated by just eight points at half-time, yet a blistering nine-goal second half allowed the home side to secure their eighth win of the season, despite the Cats coming within eight points in the final term.
Rory Laird was superb in the defensive end with 43 disposals, while Tom Lynch finished with four goals and Rory Sloane put together a masterful 27-disposal game to steer the Crows to victory.
The game was tight and fiery from the get-go, with the Crows edging out their opposition four goals to three in the opening term.
It was the visitors who got the jump to agitate Adelaide early on, with Brandan Parfait kicking the first major of the term, but the Crows were quick to reply courtesy of Jordan Gallucci.
While the Crows began to find their momentum an soon forced multiple turnovers thanks to their manic pressure, the returning Daniel Menzel and Tom Hawkins rose above, putting Adelaide in their place with two consecutive goals.
Despite the home side lifting their defensive pressure and Luke Brown converting several minutes later, the two sides failed to truly pull away from each other - the margin no more than 13 points in the opening term.
But undoubtedly the most-talked about moment of the term came from an incident involving Taylor Walker and Zach Tuohy, in which the former collected the Cats defender high.
Tuohy was unable to take his kick after being rewarded the free, and was subsequently taken from the ground and was tested for concussion.
While he returned later in the game, Walker may not be so lucky next week, with his hit set to come under MRO scrutiny.
Although the heated scuffles early in the quarter got to the players' heads with poor disposal usage, two last-minute goals from Rory Atkins and Lachlan Murphy gave the Crows a six-point advantage at quarter-time.
The two sides similarly failed to separate in the second term and kept the scintillating contest alive, with the Crows and Cats bagging three goals apiece.
Much like the first term, the Cats came surging out of the centre clearances, but struggled to convert when pushing the ball into their forward 50.
Geelong’s uncharacteristic mistakes opened up multiple opportunities with Eddie Betts marking his comeback with a solid major, before Tom Lynch made it two straight majors for the home side.
While the Crows begin to fly and swarm over their opposition, the Cats seem to be unable to move the ball into their forward 50, with their ball movement stifled by their oppressive opposition.
But their reliable weapon up forward in Hawkins became a shining light for Geelong, kicking a much-needed goal to bring them right back into the game.
His influence extended beyond the 50m arc however, with the star forward coming up into the midfield to help deliver the ball inside 50.
As the game became more heated and scuffles arose more frequently, it was the magic of the dynamic duo of Patrick Dangerfield and Gary Ablett which saw Geelong get within two points.
But the Crows did it again through Lynch, with a last-gasp goal in the final five seconds of the term extending the margin to eight points at half-time.
Adelaide finally broke away from their opposition in the third term, booting six goals to four to put themselves in a commanding position heading into the last.
Geelong lifted in the early stages of the third term, with Patrick Dangerfield opening proceedings to bring them within two points of the Crows.
But Geelong’s defensive half proved to be their downfall, with Adelaide having too much space and allowing Lynch to score his second major.
Despite the Cats trying to creep forward with Hawkins booting another, the Crows were right behind them, as it became a goal-for-goal battle.
Yet the Crows soon bucked the trend, with Lynch, Josh Jenkins and Gallucci all booting crucial goals to place the home side - their accuracy and powerful presence leaving Geelong without an answer as how to combat their rampaging opposition.
Although the Cats tried with all their might to stay in the game, Sloane’s goal put the win almost within their reach and despite one last Sam Menegola major, the Crows headed into the final term with a four-goal lead.
The lead carried on for the entirety of the final term, despite the Cats creeping to within eight points halfway through the term.
Knowing they needed to do something drastic to get in front, Geelong came out blazing with Dangerfield booting his third major to bring it back to three straight kicks.
But sloppy errors made by the Cats opened up opportunities for Adelaide, with Lynch jagging his fourth to extend the Crows' margin and give them some desperately needed breathing room.
As Walker cemented another goal for the Crows, a win seemed inevitable.
But the young Quinton Narkle Sparkle showed his magic, bringing some life back into the visitors as Geelong gave their best efforts to try and catch the surging Crows.
With Geelong kicking into gear with clutch majors to Mitch Duncan and Hawkins, the margin sliced to just eight points, as it becomes a battle to keep their finals hopes alive.
The tight affair carried on for several minutes, with both sides coming exceptionally close to scoring their own crucial major, but the Cats couldn't catch up to the lead the Crows had created as they took home a 15-point victory at Adelaide Oval and kept their own September .
Adelaide will travel up north to take on Brisbane at the 'Gabba on Saturday evening, while Geelong will face Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium in a do-or-die clash in nine day's time.
ADELAIDE 4.3 7.9 13.15 16.16 (112)
GEELONG 3.3 6.7 10.9 14.13 (97)
GOALS
Adelaide: Lynch 4, Murphy 3, Gallucci 2, Jenkins 2, Walker, Sloane, Betts, Atkins, Brown
Geelong: Hawkins 4, Dangerfield 3, Duncan, Narkle, Menegola, Kelly, Tuohy, Menzel, Parfitt
BEST
Adelaide: Laird, Lynch, Atkins, Sloane, Crouch
Geelong: Hawkins, Dangerfield, Kelly, Ablett, J. Selwood
INJURIES
Adelaide: Nil
Geelong: Nil
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