Adelaide forcefully staked its claim as a contender for the AFL crown by dismissing Essendon by 88-points in a lopsided encounter.

The Crows trounced the Bombers 24.7 (151) to 9.9 (63) at AAMI Stadium to jump into the top four on the ladder.

Inspired by four goal hauls to Ken McGregor, Simon Goodwin and Luke Jericho, Adelaide set up the crunching victory with an overpowering opening quarter and a dominant third term - booting seven goals in each of the quarters.

Demonstrating slick skills and direct ball movement before an adoring 43,486-strong home crowd, Adelaide outclassed the Bombers in every department and left Essendon with just four wins from 11 outings this year.

The visitors were overwhelmed in the opening term, when the Crows established a 7.2 to 2.1 advantage that set it on course for victory.

Despite the late withdrawal of forward Scott Welsh with the 'flu, Adelaide's forward line functioned spectacularly and was underpinned by the feats of McGregor.

The centre-half forward was at his sticky-fingered best, frequently outmarking his opponents in a superb display justifiably rewarded with his four majors.

Unheralded youngster Jericho took Welsh's goal square position and also thrived on a feast of opportunities from a midfield led by prolific ballgetters Goodwin, Scott Thompson and captain Mark Ricciuto.

Goodwin was particularly creative, setting up numerous forward sorties while Melbourne recruit Thompson was a thorn in Essendon's side all night, snaring three goals in a roaming attacking role.

Adelaide's Ian Perrie also kicked three majors on a night when seemingly all of Adelaide's best laid plans came to fruition.

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