Ruthless Adelaide has joined the logjam of teams vying for a top-two spot following a 53-point thumping of St Kilda at Norwood Oval on Sunday.

The Crows dominated from the first bounce, suffocating their opponents to lead by 30 points at half-time and run out 8.13 (61) to 1.2 (8) victors.

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Remarkably, Adelaide racked up 29 inside 50s to just two before the main break, including a landslide 18-0 count in that statistic during the second quarter.

They totally blanketed the Saints, setting up a virtual brick wall at half-forward so that whenever the opposition won the ball, it would come straight back in for a repeat entry.

For the second week in succession, Erin Phillips (21 disposals and a goal) and Ebony Marinoff (23 touches, six clearances and nine tackles) led the way.

'We've got to spend some time in the storm', Searle

There were contributors all over the ground, with Teah Charlton kicking two exciting goals, Anne Hatchard (20 disposals) continuing a fine season in the midfield, and Najwa Allen a rock with eight of her 13 possessions intercepts.

It was a rough day for the Saints, who kicked the lowest score in their young history in perfect conditions.

They never gave up, with Georgia Patrikios and Tilly Lucas-Rodd topping the possession list with 24 and Jayde Van Dyk (15) composed in the back half.

St Kilda actually had more disposals overall but battled to find a way through the Crows wall.

01:55

'We'll learn from this': Priest after Round 5 loss

Hannah Priest spoke to STK Media after our Round 5 loss against the Crows.

The difference 

St Kilda had its fair share of the ball, but just couldn't do anything with it. The Saints won the disposal count 246-215, and while they tried to play an uncontested brand of footy to exit defensive 50 – recording 72 marks to 48 – they just didn't have the skill to pierce the Crows' defence. Adelaide forced 63 turnovers, almost all of which came in its front half, and repeatedly thumped the ball inside 50. 

Say what? 

"We can't replicate this at training. This is where we've got an opportunity to grow and that's what it's about, it's about learning what the game gave us today." - St Kilda coach Peta Searle

What's next? 

The Crows will try to make it three wins on the trot when they host struggling Gold Coast at Norwood Oval next Saturday at 4.40pm ACDT. St Kilda also has a six-day turnaround and will play Melbourne at Casey Fields from 7.10pm AEDT on Saturday night.

ADELAIDE  1.3  4.6  6.10  8.13 (61)
ST KILDA  0.0  0.0  1.0  1.2 (8)

GOALS 
Adelaide: Charlton 2, Phillips, Mules, Ponter, Randall, Sedunary, Woodland
St Kilda: Shierlaw

BEST?
Adelaide: Phillips, Marinoff, Allen, Hatchard, Scheer, Allan
St Kilda: Patrikios, Van Dyk, Priest, Lucas-Rodd, Dillon

INJURIES 
Adelaide: Jones (shoulder)
St Kilda: Nil

Reports: Nil 

Crowd: N/A at Norwood Oval

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