Adelaide has backed up their big win in Sydney last week with a convincing 48-point victory against a young Gold Coast team at Adelaide Oval.
The Crows were solid for the majority of the night, with the returning Matt Crouch racking up a prolific 30 disposals, while Wayne Milera enjoyed a career-best night with 33 disposals.
It was a strong start by the Crows who looked to resurrect an inconsistent start to the year with a solid performance.
It would be Tom Lynch who get proceedings underway for Adelaide with a classy finish close to goal, as the class of the Crows quickly came to the fore.
Captain Taylor Walker looked to continue on from his dominant game, following up Lynch's effots with a set shot before a quick snap by three-gamer Jordan Gallucci would see Adelaide extend their lead to 21 points
As things began to look ugly for the visiting Gold Coast side, Jesse Lonergan got the Gold Coast on the scoreboard late in the quarter, as they managed to stem the Crows' ball movement and win their fair share of the footy around the contest.
An errant kick in defence would gift Touk Miller an easy set shot on goal as the Suns began to climb back into the contest, but not before a late goal by Richard Douglas settled things down for Adelaide, who went into quarter-time with a solid 15-point lead.
After letting the Suns back into the game late in the first, Adelaide were quick to assert themselves in the second quarter, looking very slick with their ball movement and work at the contest.
A long goal by the improved Paul Seedsman would fire up the crowd early in the quarter as the Crows piled on six unanswered goals to push the margin out to 50 points.
The Adelaide forward line was looking as dangerous as ever, as the inexperienced Gold Coast backline was simply overawed by their class.
The only negative would come through an injury scare to captain Taylor Walker, who was put on ice midway through the quarter after reporting hamstring tightness.
It would take a strong mark and goal by David Swallow to get Gold Coast on the board in the second quarter, with the seasoned Sun playing a lone hand in the midfield.
Swallow's goal would met by a quick response by Adelaide however, as a major to Riley Knight and a goal on the siren to Cam Ellis-Yolmen would extend the margin to 45 points at the main change.
A revitalised Gold Coast side came out after the break, with a clean centre clearance gifting them a goal via Alex Sexton just 27 seconds into quarter.
But once again, the Crows would respond quickly through a running goal by Crouch.
Yet it wasn't all bad news for the Suns, with Gold Coast once again clambering back into the game as the tide began to turn.
Ben Ainsworth would get on the end of some excellent ball movement to get the margin below 40 points, as the locals began to get restless.
Two more goals to Michael Barlow and Swallow would grind their gears even more, as the Crows looked second-rate for a large portion of the third term.
Gallucci would finally break the Suns' momentum with another smooth finish close to goal, before Lynch would scrap his way to a third goal to extend the margin beyond 40 at the final change.
With the danger seemingly averted, Jack Martin put through the first goal of the last to again put pressure on the Crows, but the class of Adelaide's experienced players would shine through as Knight converted on the fortunate end of a contentious deliberate rushed behind decision.
Knight's major would see the Crows finally shake the gallant Gold Coast outfit, as a third major to Douglas and a strong pack mark by Mitch McGovern would stretch the margin beyond 50 points.
A piece of stoppage brilliance inside 50 by Swallow would cap off an excellent night for him as he cut the margin to an imposing 48 points at the final siren.
Adelaide will look to continue their good form as they face a struggling Carlton side at Adelaide Oval next Saturday night, while Gold Coast continue their incredible road trip with a venture to Ballarat to face the Western Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.
ADELAIDE 4.4 10.7 13.9 16.14 (110)
GOLD COAST 2.1 3.4 7.6 9.8 (62)
GOALS
Adelaide: Douglas 3, Lynch 3, Walker 2, Gallucci 2, Knight 2, McGovern, Crouch, Ellis-Yolmen, Seedsman
Gold Coast: Swallow 3, Martin, Ainsworth, Sexton, Barlow, Miller, Lonergan
BEST
Adelaide: Lynch, Milera, Crouch, Laird, Seedsman, Douglas
Gold Coast: Swallow, Lyons, Miller, May, Weller, Barlow
INJURIES
Adelaide: Walker (hamstring tightness)
Gold Coast: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. PAUL SEEDSMAN QUICKLY MOVING INTO ALL-AUSTRALIAN CALCULATIONS
Improved Adelaide defender, Paul Seedsman, has continued his excellent start to the season with an impressive 26-disposal performance against Gold Coast.
Having the most metres gained of any player in the competition, Seedsman is the first player since the statistic has been recorded to register over 600 metres gained in six consecutive matches.
These are simply remarkable statistics for a player who just 12 months ago looked all but finished at AFL level.
Filling in at half-back for the injured Brodie Smith, Seedsman has provided Adelaide with lots of run from the back half and been instrumental in setting up their attacking play.
2. JARRYD LYONS IS PROVING THAT THE CROWS SHOULD HAVE HELD ONTO HIM IN 2016
Returning to the Adelaide Oval for the first time since leaving the Crows in 2016, Jarryd Lyons was again one of very few bright spots for the Suns.
Developing into more of a midfielder since joining Gold Coast, Lyons has become a beast at stoppages, with the youngster racking up up 25 disposals along with a game-high 13 tackles in Saturday's affair.
A leader within the Gold Coast midfield, the move has seen Lyons really develop into an elite level player as he is given the opportunity to be a star player on a rising team.
Although the Crows could no doubt use his skill as a pinch-hitting midfielder and classy half-forward, the move has been a worthwhile one for Lyons as he continuously looks to prove himself as more than a boring old role player.
3. CROWS HAMSTRING PROBLEMS ARE TURNING INTO A SERIOUS CONCERN
It seems to be a weekly occurrence now that an Adelaide player goes down with some sort of hamstring injury.
This week would see skipper Taylor Walker fall victim to the curse, with Adelaide pulling him from the game just before half-time as a precaution following reports of tightness.
The captain joins the likes of Eddie Betts, Sam Gibson, Lachie Murphy, Kyle Hartigan, Kyle Cheney and Matt Crouch, who have all suffered hamstring problems in the first six weeks of the season.
Whether it be their shortened pre-season or a flawed conditioning program, something needs to be done about these soft tissue injuries down at West Lakes.
Should they continue, these injuries threaten to derail Adelaide’s hopes of September redemption.
4. WAYNE MILERA'S MOVE TO HALF-BACK A STROKE OF COACHING GENIUS
Coming into his third season at AFL level, the first round draft pick was in a bit of no man's land following an interrupted pre-season and an inability to cement himself in the best 22.
Fast forward to round six, and the young South Australian seems to have put all doubts to rest after finding a new home in the Crows' back six.
Possessing excellent skills, pace and evasiveness, Milera has been pivotal in covering for the loss of Brodie Smith, generating a lot of run and energy from the back half.
The success of Milera’s move was on display against Gold Coast, having a career-high 33 disposals in what was another breakout game for the young man.
With consistency the biggest issue of his short career thus far, it is critical that Milera continues his good form in order to become a reliable piece of Adelaide’s best 22.
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