ADELAIDE 4.4 10.9 16.10 21.16 (142)
FREMANTLE 2.1 6.2 7.3 11.4 (70)
More Sport Videos
AFL plays of round 21
Pie Howe shows how, a Brisbane win reveals a half back to watch, Nic Nat steals a win from GWS, Sydney trample the Saints and Harry Taylor helps the Cats claw back in his 200th.
GOALS - Adelaide: Betts 6, Jenkins 5, Lynch 2, Cameron, Lever, Brown, McGovern, Atkins, Sloane, Thompson, Walker.
Fremantle: Walters 5, Pavlich 2, Langdon, Ballantyne, Yarran, Sheridan.
BEST - Adelaide: Betts, Crouch, Laird, Douglas, Atkins, Jenkins.
Fremantle: Walters, Hill, Silvagni, Neale, Mundy, Langdon.
![Six-shooter: Eddie Betts celebrates another goal against Fremantle.](/web/20160919150819im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/s/a/i/t/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqsamf.png/1471837299911.jpg)
UMPIRES - Dalgleish, Farmer, Stephens.
CROWD - 30,116 at Domain Stadium.
Adelaide is within striking distance of a top-two finish after a third consecutive win by more than 10 goals.
The Crows ended a horrid week for Fremantle with a 72-point victory at Domain Stadium on Sunday.
![Spurr of the moment: Adelaide's Eddie Betts gets wrapped up in a tackle.](/web/20160919150819im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/s/a/i/u/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqsamf.png/1471183198567.jpg)
Brad Crouch celebrated his freshly penned four-year contract extension with an outstanding opening half that set up the win, while Eddie Betts booted six goals and Josh Jenkins five.
As has been the case for a lot of this season, Michael Walters, with five goals, was Fremantle's most dangerous forward.
After a tight opening term, where the Crows kept Fremantle in the game with poor kicking (4.4 to 2.1), Adelaide opened the game up with six goals in each of the next two quarters and five in the last.
It was Adelaide's 11th victory from their past 12 games and their 15th for the season and while they remain third on the ladder, the margin allowed them to improve an already impressive percentage.
Since losing to Geelong in round 18, the Crows have recorded massive wins against Essendon (82 points), the Brisbane Lions (138 points) and now Fremantle, to improve their percentage from 128.65 to 143.8.
The second-placed Swans with games to come against North Melbourne and Richmond are just 3.1per cent ahead of the Crows.
Adelaide remain at home for their last two qualifying games – against Port Adelaide and West Coast – before the finals.
Both sides are one win behind Hawthorn, but both have a superior percentage to the three-time premiership side.
If the Hawks want to remain in Melbourne in September and not travel to Sydney or Adelaide, they may need to beat both West Coast, in Perth and Collingwood, in the run home.
The season can't come soon enough for the Dockers, who are now just percentage ahead of 17th-placed Brisbane.
And the off-field issues are starting to mirror their concerns on the ground.
After assistant coach Peter Sumich departed from the club early in the week, speculation that forward Hayden Ballantyne has sought a trade at the end of the season has emerged, while injured Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe has declared that he will keep his options under the free agency rules open at the end of 2017.
On Sunday, club president Steve Harris announced that he will step down at the end of the season, citing a heavy workload in his day-to-day businesses.
He will be replaced by club vice-president Dale Alcock.
The Dockers played catch-up from early in the game. Aaron Sandilands, who sat the last quarter on the bench with his tracksuit on, may have had the better of his ruck contest with Crows second-gamer Reilly O'Brien, but Adelaide still won the clearances early.
Taking advantage of good fortune, the Crows lined up to convert their chances. They had eight scorers to half-time, including Jake Lever, who booted his first for his career, while Betts had three majors before the main break.
Alex Silvagni was the only Dockers defender to clearly finish on top, keeping Adelaide captain Taylor Walker to just one goal.
Former Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich didn't have his best day, but his two goals have him stranded on 699 career goals.
Bernie Quinlan and Kevin Bartlett are the only other two players to have kicked 700 goals, having played more than 350 games. Pavlich has two games remaining to kick one goal and is unlikely to travel to Sydney next week to play against Greater Western Sydney.
Poll
Who was the AFL player of round 21?
Poll closed 19 Aug, 2016
Disclaimer: These polls are not scientific and reflect the opinion only of visitors who have chosen to participate.