Adelaide has ruled North Melbourne out of finals contention in a fiery contest at Adelaide Oval, with the final result being determined by just nine points.
The Roos trailed by 30 points at three-quarter time, before piling on five goals in the last quarter to run Adelaide down to the wire.
It wasn;t until Eddie Betts rose to the occasion with a Mark of the Year contender that North's run came to an end, with the dynamic small forward kicking true to ice the game on the siren.
Despite the Crows being well out of the finals race, the Kangaroos' finals hopes were still alive, and both sides engaged each other in a very physical contest that threatened to boil over at times.
The Roos were left to rue their decision to let the likes of Matt Crouch, Rory Laird, Rory Sloane
and Bryce Gibbs run free, combining for 143 disposals and 25 clearances to obliterate the North Melbourne midfield for majority of the match.
In an unusually quiet atmosphere at the Adelaide Oval - owing the Crows being out of finals
contention - it was the Kangaroos who brought the heat to the contest early, slotting the first majors of the game through Jarrad Waite and Todd Goldstein.
Yet, despite a goal from North youngster Will Walker, the Crows responded admirably, dominating the clearances and scores from turnovers to pile on their first three goals of the match, to lead the Roos by three points heading into the first break.
Having racked up a combined total of 18 disposals and a goal in the first quarter, North’s decision to not tag either Bryce Gibbs or Rory Sloane appeared questionable at best, as the two contested ball-magnets continued to dominate in the clearances for the Crows.
Coupled with their fabled efficacy at rebounding off half-back, Adelaide, through Riley Knight, Josh Jenkins’ second and Mitch McGovern, added a further three majors to extend their lead to 22 points halfway through the second term.
North Melbourne meanwhile, were held goalless for the second term, registering a feeble three behinds against the Adelaide onslaught.
The fact Adelaide only scored one further goal for the quarter was more telling of the Crows’
missed chances, as opposed to North’s ability to fend off their opposition.
Having dominated the quarter in virtually every aspect, Adelaide gave up few chances to a hapless North Melbourne outfit, yet when offered, failed to take their opportunities to get back into the game, with their half encapsulated by a dismal Kayne Turner miss from five metres out.
With the Crows kicking four behinds for the quarter, the Roos could consider themselves lucky to be down by only 28 points at the main break.
The second half began unlike the first, with the game becoming devoid of major action as the
Crows sought to control the footy outside their attacking 50, with North Melbourne only too happy to oblige to a break in the barrage.
After Hugh Greenwood slotted the Crows seventh goal in a row, the game appeared to be gone from North Melbourne’s reach; however, a surprising turn of speed and finish by Goldstein, coupled with a quality finish from Jy Simpkin reduced the margin to 22 points, breathing some life into the contest.
Despite a Shaun Atley goal late in the quarter, Adelaide broke even with the Kangaroos, putting through a further two majors through Tom Lynch - his efforts demonstrating why they’ll be disappointed to be missing out on finals this year.
Complete with some well-crafted attacking moves and ferocity around the contest, the Crows left the Kangaroos chasing shadows, with the margin resting at 30 points at the final break.
The start of the final term saw a dramatic momentum shift in North Melbourne’s favour, with the
Crows henned into their defensive 50 by a relentless Kangaroos outfit.
Their pressure was telling, with Mason Wood converting his first on a quiet afternoon, however their conversion rate was sloppy, missing their next three chances at goal - the game seemingly out of reach after Josh Jenkins kicked his third of the evening.
However, a quick snap from a subdued Jack Ziebell, a classy second goal from Atley and
two goals in a row for mercurial forward Jarrad Waite saw the Roos come to within three points of the Crows with minutes left to play.
With a procession of questionable umpiring decisions and shaky composure shown from both
sides, Adelaide eventually prevailed courtesy of a contender for Mark of the Year from Eddie Betts, as he kicked truly to give the Crows a final nine-point victory.
Adelaide will end its season away from home when they take on Carlton at Etihad Stadium next Saturday, while North Melbourne will seek to finish the year on a high against St Kilda next Sunday on their home deck.
ADELAIDE 3.5 7.9 10.13 12.14 (86) NORTH MELBOURNE 3.2 3.5 6.7 11.11 (77)
GOALS Adelaide: Jenkins 3, Greenwood 2, McGovern 2, Gallucci, Gibbs, Lynch, Betts, Knight
North Melbourne: Waite 3, Atley 2, Goldstein 2, Walker, Wood, Simpkin, Ziebell BEST Adelaide: M. Crouch, Laird, Jenkins, Gibbs, Sloane, Knight North Melbourne: Dumont, Higgins, Waite, Atley, Anderson, Goldstein
INJURIES Adelaide: Nil North Melbourne: Nil
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