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ADELAIDE 1.1 2.4 5.10 9.13 (67)
MELBOURNE 4.0 7.2 8.4 11.4 (70)
GOALS
Adelaide: Jenkins, Dangerfield, Podsiadly 2, Thompson, Crouch, Petrenko
Melbourne: Dawes 3, Bail, Kennedy-Harris, Salem, Watts, Viney, Jones, Jamar, Tyson
BEST
Adelaide: Jacobs, Smith, Sloane, Thompson, Dangerfield
Melbourne: Dawes, Vince, Tyson, Viney, Kennedy-Harris,
INJURIES
Adelaide: Lynch (concussion), Jaensch
Melbourne: Georgiou (concussion)
SUBSTITUTES
Adelaide: Tom Lynch replaced by Mitch Grigg in the first quarter
Melbourne: Alex Georgiou replaced by Christian Salem in the third quarter
Jay Kennedy-Harris gave the Dees plenty of spark. Photo: Morne de Klerk (Getty)
What happened
The nail-biting victory was the Demons' first win in South Australia since 2002.
But after leading by as much as six goals they nearly let it slip, with the Crows launching a late fight back that took the game down to the wire.
A determined Chris Dawes played his best game in the red and blue, while Bernie Vince, playing against his former club, was another standout.
Dawes booted three goals but also took important marks and laid team-lifting tackles.
Adelaide made a flying start with Patrick Dangerfield booting the opener, but any hopes of a comfortable victory were quickly thrown out the door. A spirited Melbourne booted four goals in a row, including a nice finish from the much-maligned Jack Watts, to take an unlikely 17-point lead at the first change.
The Dees carried their momentum into the second quarter with Dawes booting two and Jack Viney adding another to make the margin 36 points. A late Scott Thompson goal kept Adelaide in touch, but the first half was arguably the best half of football the Demons have played in years.
The Crows slowly reduced the margin, and with less than 40 seconds to go, James Podsiadly snapped truly to bring the fast-finishing home side within three points.
But the Dees held firm to claim a magnificent win.
Fallout
The loss is a massive blow for inconsistent Adelaide, which will have a fortnight to stew over the embarrassing defeat owing to the Round 8 bye.
Hope they're in my fantasy team
Viney (23 disposals), Dom Tyson (29 possessions) and Vince (26 disposals) lead the stats sheet for the victors.
Dangerfield (two goals, 24 possessions), Brodie Smith (30 disposals) and Thompson (29 touches) were Adelaide's leading ball-winners.
What's next
Adelaide has a bye along with five other clubs, while Melbourne takes on the Western Bulldogs in a winnable clash at the MCG on Saturday night.