ADELAIDE continued its long-standing AFL dominance of Sydney by cornering the Swans into repeated error and ultimately claiming a dour 17-point victory at AAMI Stadium.
Up by 29 points at half-time, Adelaide allowed the visitors a brief sniff in the third quarter before freezing out the Swans in the closing minutes to win 9.7 (61) against a wasteful 5.14 (44).
The Crows have not lost to the side coached by Paul Roos, at home or away, since 2004.
Sydney's discontent was heightened by an apparent serious knee injury to Amon Buchanan, who tripped over a teammate in the final quarter and did not return.
The extent of Buchanan's injury will not be known until he undergoes scans on Sunday.
The Swans notched only one goal to half-time, and were, with the exception of a brief period in the third quarter, blanketed by Crows’ pressure.
Barry Hall, Adam Goodes and Brett Kirk were all comprehensively neutralised by Ben Rutten, Jason Torney and Simon Goodwin respectively, while Andrew McLeod enjoyed a third consecutive starring role by generating constant rebound from half-back.
Brett Burton (three goals), Brent Reilly, Scott Thompson and Tyson Edwards were also important.
Ryan O'Keefe, Tadhg Kennelly and Nick Malceski had plenty of the ball for the Swans, while Darren Jolly held his own in the ruck.
Adelaide were bolstered in the lead-up by confirmation that fullback Rutten had shrugged off a calf knock to line up alongside Swans spearhead Hall.
He kept Hall to one missed shot from a free kick in term one as the Crows kept Sydney goalless and pushed out to a 16-point advantage.
There were numerous McLeod-fuelled Adelaide rebounds, but the key play of the half was an unstinting chase of Goodes by Jason Porplyzia.
Running almost off his feet, Porplyzia latched onto Goodes just enough to spoil his handball, and the resulting turnover produced Burton's second goal.
Hall ran into goal for Sydney's first six minutes into the second, but Crows majors to Nathan Bock, Porplyzia and Edwards stretched the margin to telling dimensions.
They were not insurmountable, however, and the Swans ensured a tight contest by ramming through the first three goals of term three, including two in as many minutes from Jolly.
Adelaide's advantage had been halved by the beginning of the last, but the home team's composure when holding a lead was not seriously tested by a Sydney side making too many errors to win.
ADELAIDE 3.2 6.5 8.6 9.7 (61)
SYDNEY 0.4 1.6 5.10 5.14 (44)
Goals: Adelaide: B Burton 3 S Welsh 2 N Bock I Perrie T Edwards J Porplyzia. Sydney: M O'Loughlin 2 D Jolly 2 B Hall.
Best: Adelaide: A McLeod B Rutten S Thompson J Torney B Reilly S Goodwin T Edwards. Sydney: R O'Keefe J Bolton D Jolly T Kennelly N Malceski.
Injuries: Adelaide: Nil. Sydney: A Buchanan (knee).
Reports: Nil.
Umpires: C Donlan B Rosebury S McInerney
Official crowd: 43,752 at AAMI Stadium.
