MELBOURNE has given milestone man Jordan Lewis a night to remember, celebrating the veteran's 300th game with a thrilling 13-point victory over Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Along with the Demons taking another step to locking in their first finals appearance since 2006, the 13.12 (90) to 10.17 (77) result has all but ended the Crows' chances of featuring in September.
Trailing by 20 points at the 15-minute mark of the second term, the Demons lifted another gear, booting nine of the next 10 goals to lead by 32 points at the last change.
The Crows refused to go away as rain poured down in the final quarter.
Goals to Jordan Gallucci and Eddie Betts put the Crows within striking distance to the delight of the 45,880-strong crowd.
Skipper Taylor Walker's goal with just under three minutes on the clock narrowed the margin to nine points, bringing back memories of the Demons' after-the-siren loss to Geelong a week ago.
The Demons loaded up players behind the ball at the centre bounce, but the Crows went forward, only for Eddie Betts to hit the post from close range with a minute remaining.
From the resulting the kick-in, the Demons took the ball the length of the field and Alex Neal-Bullen ran into an open goal square to seal the win.
"As a club, we were probably under a bit of pressure this week after the way we lost last week, so to show that character and belief was outstanding," Demons coach Simon Goodwin said.
"To be in a position where we were 20 points down early, clearly not playing our best footy and to have that response was certainly a great way to play.
"We took a really big step forward."
The loss leaves last year's grand finalists are on 36 points (9-9), two wins outside the eight with an inferior percentage, coupled with a tough run home including Port Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney.
The Demons aren't safe yet despite improving to 11-7 for the season and moving to fifth on the ladder, but will be there if they can replicate the exciting footy that tore the Crows to shreds.
Any doubt over Melbourne star Clayton Oliver, who had a tight quad at training on Wednesday, was dispelled with another brilliant performance.
Oliver received great support from Nathan Jones, Angus Brayshaw, Christian Petracca and Dom Tyson.
The Demons' midfielders got great service from Max Gawn, who had 66 hit-outs to easily win his individual battle with Sam Jacobs.
Surgery to fix a broken hand didn't stop Demons tagger James Harmes adding another scalp to his resume, rarely giving Crows general Rory Sloane any time or space.
Lewis booted two almost identical goals from outside the 50m arc, the second of those bringing the Demons level early in the third term.
The Crows were a man down for the majority of the game after winger Paul Seedsman suffered a left hamstring injury midway through the first quarter.
Forward Mitch McGovern also spent time off the ground with a damaged AC joint, but he finished the game.
Matt Crouch and Bryce Gibbs tried hand, while Wayne Milera was lively off half-back.
"The signs weren't great in the third quarter," Crows coach Don Pyke said.
"We had a few skill errors and that compounded the problem.
"It was a regretful 15 minutes of footy."
MEDICAL ROOM
Adelaide: The Crows suffered an early blow when winger Paul Seedsman left the ground midway through the first quarter with a left hamstring injury and didn't play any further part in the game. Mitch McGovern came off the ground in the third quarter with an injury to his left AC joint after a collision with Angus Brayshaw, but he was able to finish the game.
Melbourne: The Demons reported a clean bill of health.
NEXT UP
The Demons will aim to build on their momentum when they host Gold Coast at the MCG next Sunday. Meanwhile, the Crows face another massive test as they aim to turn the tables on Port Adelaide in Showdown 45 at Adelaide Oval next Saturday
ADELAIDE 4.4 6.8 7.10 10.17 (77)
MELBOURNE 3.1 5.7 12.11 13.12 (90)
GOALS
Adelaide: Greenwood 2, Betts 2, Seedsman, Gibbs, Murphy, Atkins, Gallucci, Walker
Melbourne: T. McDonald 3, Lewis 2, Melksham 2, Fritsch 2, Kennedy Harris, Jetta, Hogan, Neal-Bullen
BEST
Adelaide: M.Crouch, Milera, Laird, Gibbs, Atkins
Melbourne: Oliver, T.McDonald, Petracca, Gawn, Harmes, Lewis
INJURIES
Adelaide: Seedsman (hamstring)
Melbourne: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Meredith, Harris
Official crowd: 45,880 at the Adelaide Oval
