Melbourne has evaded another final quarter scare and put an end to Adelaide's hopes of making an appearance come September, with their narrow 13-point victory thrusting them into fifth position on the ladder.
Although the Crows had all the ascendancy in the first term, the Demons slowly wrestled their way back into the contest with a seven-goal third quarter, which ended up being enough as the Crows slotted three goals in the last to give Simon Goodwin's men a real fright.
Jordan Lewis enjoyed a sound outing in his 300th game with 21 disposals and two goals, yet Alex Neal-Bullen and Clayton were best afield for the Dees, finishing with 12 tackles and 14 clearances respectively, while Tom McDonald ended his night with three goals.
Adelaide had several stars throughout the night, yet their impacts came in patches, with Matt Crouch the most consistent with 32 touches.
Despite owning the clearances in the opening term, the Crows were swamped by the Demons for the remainder of the game, with the final count resting at 39-59 and playing a crucial part in the final outcome.
The intensity was evident right from the opening bounce, with the consequences of a loss effectively ruling either side out of the finals race.
While both sides' ferocity stood marked, Adelaide were far superior with ball in hand and appeared far more threatening around the stoppages, with all four of their goals coming from such areas.
Despite the Demons securing three majors of their own, the visitors' physicality around the contest was nowhere near that of their opposition, who swarmed over them in terms of tackles (34-30), contested possessions (52-45) and owned the time in forward half.
With the highly contested affair only heating up, Adelaide nevertheless kept their cool and remained composed, despite a series of tight misses from Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins.
Paul Seedsman ended up slotting the most unlikely of their opportunities, threading the ball from the pocket before Hugh Greenwood mirrored the action from the opposite side.
It ultimately ended up being the only impact from Seedsman for the evening, the pacey mid injured his left hamstring shortly afterwards and was forced to watch the remainder of the game from the sidelines.
The Crows kept pushing however, with Betts securing their third consecutive major before Tom McDonald finally broke Adelaide's run with one of his own.
Melbourne managed to find their feet shortly after, enhancing their general play around the ground and stringing together back-to-back majors, the latter coming from the milestone man in Lewis.
While the Dees scrapped for their goals, Adelaide made the impossible seemingly effortless, with Bryce Gibbs converting with a clever snap off the back of a stoppage to push the Crows' advantage to 15 points with five minutes left to play.
One final goal from Bayley Fritsch on the cusp of quarter-time dragged the margin back to nine points, yet it was barely reflective of Adelaide's handle of the game.
The Crows' grip began to falter in the second term however, as the Demons began to take it up to their opposition and levelled the playing field with a 2.6 quarter.
Melbourne upped their tack on the football throughout the second half and were subsequently rewarded with repeated inside 50s and dominance around the contested passages of play.
But the scoreboard remained mostly untroubled for majority of the term, with Jake Melksham and Tom McDonald scoring 10 minutes apart following a 16-minute Demon scoring drought.
From the initial stages of the term however, it once was again an Adelaide masterclass, with Lachlan Murphy and Rory Atkins converting amid a flurry of Melbourne behinds to further their lead.
Although the Dees' minor scores became more frequent, the damage could have been far worse had it not been for the efforts of Wayne Milera, whose evasive skills and blistering play off half-back thwarted Melbourne's forays forward.
Melbourne managed to break through however with two goals, and their six behinds for the term helped cut the margin back even further.
With seven points separating the two sides at the main change, both the Crows and Demons were just about evenly poised heading into a dynamic second half.
Melbourne's prominence around the ground only manifested further in the third term, with their seven-goal quarter blowing the Crows well and truly out of the water.
Unlike the second term in which goals were sporadic, the Demons booted two long range majors through Lewis and Melksham in the space of just six minutes, with the latter's frenzied kick dribbling through thanks to a series of fortunate bounces.
More incredible was the fact the Demons had hit the front for the first time in the game, leaving the Crows in their wake as they continued their charge.
Melbourne smacked their opposition around the clearances, amassing a whopping 17 clearances against the Crows' four, and with Max Gawn continuing to own the hit-outs, the Demons looked close to unstoppable.
Although Greenwood re-emerged following an ineffectual second term with a classy goal from a stoppage, it ended up being one of the only highlights for the home side as the cracks began to emerge.
A sole blunder in defence from Milera proved costly, with Fritsch pouncing upon the errant kick and initiating Melbourne's impressive five-goal streak.
With Jay Kennedy Harris, Tom McDonald, Jeff Garlett and an incredible sore Jesse Hogan each adding majors to their name, the Demons ballooned the margin out to a game-high 31 points, with Adelaide stunned at how they had let the game slip through the fingers.
As heavy rain inundated Adelaide Oval in the final term, the scoring from Melbourne consequently dried up, while the Crows conversely flooded their opposition with three goals.
Despite Jordan Gallucci got the Crows off to a perfect start, Melbourne managed to close down Adelaide's resurgence initially, with the wet weather benefiting them early in the fray.
Although the rain worsened, Adelaide's fortunes surprisingly improved, with Betts squeezing through a classy goal in the wet to take the margin to less than three goals.
Their final quarter mishap against Geelong still fresh in the Dees' minds, a series of narrow misses from the Crows elevated the Demons' heart rate, with the margin coming down to 14 points as the home side peppered their attacking 50.
The Crows finally got a reprieve after Sam Frost gave away a free kick with three minutes left on the clock, with Taylor Walker slicing Melbourne's lead to just eight points.
With less than a minute remaining, Betts looked to have found a path through, yet his kick from the square clipped the post and prevented the Crows from pulling off an unlikely win.
One final major from Neal-Bullen iced the game, as the Demons came out on top by a final 13 points.
With finals off the agenda, Adelaide will be forced to face off against their crosstown rivals in Port Adelaide next Saturday night, while Melbourne will be set to battle Gold Coast at the MCG next Sunday in order to keep their finals aspirations afloat.
ADELAIDE 4.4 6.8 7.10 10.17 (77)
MELBOURNE 3.1 5.7 12.11 13.12 (90)
GOALS
Adelaide: Greenwood 2, Betts 2, Seedsman, Murphy, Gallucci, Gibbs, Murphy, Walker
Melbourne: T. McDonald 3, Fritsch 2, Lewis 2, Melksham 2, Neal-Bullen, Hogan, Kennedy Harris, Garlett
BEST
Adelaide: Crouch, Gibbs, Sloane, Greenwood, Milera
Melbourne: Oliver, Neal-Bullen, T. McDonald, Harmes, Jones, Brayshaw
INJURIES
Adelaide: Seedsman (hamstring)
Melbourne: Nil
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