The Bob Murphy-inspired Western Bulldogs handed Adelaide a surprise 57-point thumping at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Murphy was outstanding across half-back as the slick Dogs ran the Crows to a standstill, with Jake Stringer booting six goals in the 18.17 (125) to 10.8 (68) win.
The Bulldogs' skipper is just four AFL games into his captaincy, but he continues to lead his young side with an assuredness that belies his inexperience in the role.
"He had another outstanding game," coach Luke Beveridge said.
"He's had a terrific start to the year. We need his leadership and we need him to accumulate the footy and use it well like he always does.
"He did that again tonight and he would have caused a few headaches.
"We're really fortunate that he's our leader and our figurehead. His contributions on and off the field can't be underestimated."
Matthew Boyd (28 possessions), Luke Dahlhaus (28) and Liam Picken (29) were key contributors on the ball for the Dogs, while Michael Talia kept Taylor Walker to just one goal.
The Crows were unbeaten after three rounds and the Dogs were coming off a 70-point hiding at the hands of Hawthorn, but Phil Walsh has plenty of food for thought after his side crumbled in the face of the high-speed Bulldogs' blitz.
Patrick Dangerfield, who didn't receive a hard tag similar to the one applied by Melbourne, kicked Adelaide's only goal of the first quarter five minutes in, but it was one-way traffic the other way from there.
The disciplined Dogs hunted in packs and their superior pressure forced the Crows into skill errors and poor decisions with the ball in hand.
Beveridge's men out-worked Adelaide in a blistering opening term with Stringer adding two of his side's six goals as they bounced out to a 34-point quarter-time lead.
The Crows briefly wrested the momentum early in the second term, but the Bulldogs didn't flinch and pushed their lead out to 47 points before Adelaide kicked two goals in the shadows of halftime.
But any flickering hopes of a comeback were quickly snuffed out with Stringer slamming through another three goals to push the margin out to 75 points at three-quarter time.
One of the few disappointments for the Dogs was that Stringer was unable to add to his tally after he was subbed out as he manages a minor hamstring complaint.
Scott Thompson had 38 touches and Eddie Betts kicked four goals for Adelaide, but they had few winners on the day, despite winning the final term.
Walsh lamented the lack of support for Thompson in the midfield and agreed the Dogs had made his team look slow.
"Their speed of ball movement was really good, but I thought that (we looked slow)," Walsh said.
"Normally when a game's like that and you're turning the ball over and having to chase back you do look slow, but I think that's valid criticism today."
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