Adelaide went into Friday's critical match with Collingwood under an illness cloud but will be feeling a lot sicker after being smashed by 37-points.

Collingwood's 15.18 (108) to 11.5 (71) victory reasserted its premiership legitimacy that suffered a serious blow in last week's heavy defeat by Brisbane.

It also allowed the Magpies to draw level with the Crows on AFL premiership points.

Adelaide was aiming for eight consecutive wins but was hobbled by a virus sweeping the club and the Perth hoodoo that stops eastern state teams winning the week after they return from a victory in Perth.

Even accounting for this - and the fact the Crows were up against a side they'd lost to in their previous four meetings - Adelaide disappointed.

Adelaide's midfielders, who've dropped away dramatically in recent weeks, again faltered and were humbled by the Magpies.

Paul Licuria had 22 possessions in the tightly-fought first half and Shane O'Bree and Scott Burns chimed in as Collingwood blasted the game open with withering a third-quarter burst.

The Crows forwards were starved of opportunities and, when they did come, Wayne Carey was beaten by Jason Cloke while small forwards Ronnie Burns and Graeme Johncock were anonymous.

With quality berths in the top eight - and the potential home finals they offer - at stake, neither side was prepared to gamble with open play, so the first half was a tight battle of defences, with man-on-man match-ups all over the ground.

After just four goals each in the still Dome conditions during the first half, one side had to give and it was Adelaide in the third term as the Magpies rattled on 6.4 before the Crows scored in the third term.

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