ADELAIDE 7.2 11.6 12.11 17.14 (116) 
MELBOURNE  1.3 5.3 9.7 10.10 (70) 
GOALS - Adelaide: Walker 4,  Lynch 3,  Mackay 2,  Betts 2,  McGovern 2, B Crouch,  Jenkins,  Knight, Jacobs Melbourne: Melksham 3, Neal-Bullen, Oliver, Petracca, Kent, Hunt,  Gawn,  McDonald. 
BEST - Adelaide: Laird, Lynch, B Crouch, M Crouch, Mackay, Betts. Melbourne: Lewis, Kennedy-Harris, Oliver, Hunt, Vince. 
INJURIES - Melbourne: Kent, shoulder. Adelaide: Sloane, concussion. 
REPORTS - Bernie Vince (Melbourne) for heavy bump on Richard Douglas 
UMPIRES - Donlon, Rosebury, Ryan. 
CROWD - 12,104 at TIO Stadium.
 

DARWIN: Adelaide have consolidated top spot and enjoyed victory on their first trip to the Top End with an impressive 46-point win over Melbourne.

The foundations for the Crows' 12th victory were laid in the opening quarter when they poured in seven goals to Melbourne's solitary major. The 35-point deficit meant the Demons were playing catch up all match. A booming torpedo punt goal from Jayden Hunt after the three-quarter-time siren cut the deficit to 22 points and raised hopes for Melbourne fans.

It proved to be a false dawn as Adelaide put an exclamation mark on the win with a decisive five-goal final term.

It was largely a down night for the Demons who were trying to keep tabs on the top four. Bernie Vince did another strong shadowing job on former teammate Rory Sloane but he faces a nervous wait after being reported for a crude bump on Richard Douglas. He's also certain to face scrutiny for an elbow to the face of Eddie Betts.

Sloane was also forced from the field in the third quarter with possible concussion after crashing heavily to the turf in a Dean Kent tackle. Remarkably, Sloane was initially refusing to go off the ground after being attended to by trainers.

The Crows had contributors across the field but special mention must go to Rory Laird, forward Tom Lynch, Brad Crouch, Tom Crouch, Taylor Walker and small forward Betts who gave a few more good memories to his hordes of supporters in the Territory.

Lynch was a focal point in the forward 50 all match, teaming well with Walker and Josh Jenkins in Adelaide's dangerous forward line.

Melbourne's record in Darwin has now slipped to 3-5 after playing every year since 2010. They have only won once here in their past six attempts.

With a dozen wins under the belt, Adelaide have now secured a finals spot but, more importantly, a top four finish is nigh on certain.

The match started steadily enough and on even terms but it took two goals in succession – one to Mitch McGovern and the second to Walker – for the floodgates to open.

A seven-goal term was the result – their best start since round five – and the game looked as good as done. However, there were lingering memories of Melbourne's classic come-from-behind victory from a similar deficit in round eight at Adelaide Oval.

Four of the Crows' first term goals came in time-on as they raced to their big lead. By then Walker was influential with two goals, David Mackay had snagged two and Melbourne's only goalkicker was Jake Melksham.

Brad Crouch and Laird were having a big impact with 11 touches each. Significantly, Sloane only had three possessions to his name thanks to the close attention from his nemesis Vince.

Melbourne dragged the margin back with the first two goals of the second quarter, raising hopes of a revival. A critical Lynch goal got the margin back out to 30 points and it stayed thereabouts until the main break.

The Demons were making too many errors and lacking cohesion with their forward forays. Melksham, however, added two more goals in that stanza. Adelaide booted two of their majors in time-on, giving them a decisive 37-point lead at half-time.

By that point Laird was having a night out with 21 touches, the Crouches were adding to their credentials and the Crows were getting the job done without a large influence from Sloane, the midfielder continuing to get solidly beaten by Vince.

Adelaide have another tough assignment next week, hosting fellow top four team Geelong at the Adelaide Oval on a six-day break . Melbourne, too, have a tough match-up upon their return to Victoria, taking on Port Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday.