Adelaide stormed over the top of Sydney at a wet SCG on Friday night, kicking five goals to one in the final quarter to win 13.9 (87) to 10.11 (71) and end the Swans' unbeaten home record for 2026.
The 16-point margin hides the swings in between. The Crows opened with six goals to three and led by 27 early in the second quarter, before Sydney wrestled the game back and held them goalless through the third to lead by six at the last change. Then the rain came down, and so did Adelaide. In front of 33,413, the visitors piled on 5.1 to 1.3 after three-quarter time.
Darcy Fogarty finished with four goals from 20 disposals, three of them in that final surge. The pressure numbers told the same story. Adelaide laid 72 tackles to 59, won the tackle count inside its forward 50 by 19 to 5, and took clearances 51 to 38. Izak Rankine led everyone on the ground with 30 disposals.
The go-ahead play was pure pressure too: Zac Taylor ran down Nick Blakey deep in attack and the ball fell for Luke Nankervis to put Adelaide back in front, before Riley Thilthorpe, with his second, iced the result.
“I said to them post-game, I said I hope Adelaide's rocking at the moment because it would have been one of those ones," Crows coach Matthew Nicks said. "There's a lot of belief here, so I'm mindful that we needed to have this. It's great that we've had this win. It reinforces our belief in ourselves.”
Tom Papley kept Sydney alive with four goals from 24 disposals, and Braeden Campbell's return from a year lost to injury brought a goal. The night still cost the Swans. Harry Cunningham failed a head injury assessment after a high Fogarty tackle in the first half and took no further part, and AAP reported the incident is expected to attract Match Review attention. Isaac Heeney spent part of the third quarter on the bench with lower-back soreness but saw out the game.
"We've got work to do, as simple as I can be with that," Swans coach Dean Cox said. "We need to do it for longer. At the minute, we're not doing that." After the Perth loss to Fremantle a week earlier, Sydney has dropped two straight with three rounds left to protect its double chance.
Sydney holds second at 13-5, four premiership points clear of Adelaide, now 12-6 and provisionally third. Hawthorn, Brisbane and Melbourne all play later in the round with a game in hand, so the Crows' place in the four will be tested before Sunday night. Saturday's program sends ladder-leading Fremantle to Adelaide Oval to meet Port Adelaide, Collingwood against Carlton at the MCG, and Brisbane west to face West Coast. Three rounds from finals, Adelaide has won three straight and beaten a side above it on the ladder. Where the Crows land when the round closes Sunday night is the number that matters.
