Adelaide exerted its authority over a hopelessly outclassed Essendon, charging to a record-busting 138-point victory in the AFL mismatch at AAMI Stadium.

Apart from a brief collective nap in the first five minutes, the Crows showed ample poise, relentless pace and considerable flair to win 30.8 (188) to the Bombers' forlorn 6.14 (50).

Ken McGregor's last moment goal, his fourth and Adelaide's 10th in the last, allowed the Crows to top 30 goals for the first time in their history.

They were also three points up on their previous highest total - 29.11 (185) against Richmond in 1997 - and bettered club marks for their biggest win and highest score - previously 23.23 (161) and 96 points in 1996 - against the Bombers, while missing out on their tallest winning margin by a solitary point.

Key forward Trent Hentschel bagged eight goals for Adelaide, a new personal best, including a quickfire four in the first eight minutes of the final term.

In all, 14 Crows made it onto the scoresheet: Brent Reilly, Simon Goodwin and captain Mark Ricciuto (three goals) winning plenty of the ball and Brett Burton (four) sharing forward line prominence with McGregor.

Dual Norm Smith medallist Andrew McLeod produced a few trademark moments of brilliance on the occasion of his 250th game.

Essendon had predictably few winners, Scott Lucas offering the only genuine forward option with two goals and Mark Johnson working hard for his touches in the middle.

The Bombers sprang a small surprise before the bounce by dropping Paddy Ryder, his place taken by South Australian youngster Angus Monfries.

It was a night for milestones, as Dustin Fletcher - also playing game 250 - then McLeod led their respective teams onto the field in recognition of their longevity.

No-one had given Essendon a ghost of a chance against the finals-bound Crows but this didn't faze Courtney Johns who took an impressive grab in front of Ben Rutten and kicked truly from 50m to hand the visitors a surprise early lead.

Adelaide needed to be roused and, fittingly, it was McLeod who did so with a couple of typically silken plays, plus a flying mark over Henry Slattery.

Six quick goals ensued, two of them to poised poacher Matthew Bode, and the Crows were 23 points in credit at the first change.

Adelaide's second quarters have been ordinary of late and they made a concerted effort to change that by burying the hapless Bombers in term two.

Key defender Kepler Bradley went off soon after the resumption with a wrenched ankle and the Crows showed little sympathy by piling on another six majors between the fifth and 18th minutes.

Kevin Sheedy made his only possible adjustment by shifting Lucas to full forward and, though he managed to kick two in as many minutes, Graham Johncock's snap meant the margin had blown out beyond 50 points at the siren.

The only point of interest in the second half was how many records Adelaide could eclipse.

Quarters of seven and 10 goals allowed the Crows to rewrite some history, at least ensuring the match would be remembered for something other than the woeful depths now plumbed by the Bombers.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig said there was not a single element of the game that he was unhappy with.

"That was a fantastic performance by our club," he said.

"We all understand where Essendon is at the moment, and what they're trying to do, and they'll have some of those results because of the profile of their squad, but they've got some fabulous talent coming through.

"It's important to enjoy this win, but on Monday she all starts again."

Sheedy explained that he was never going to try to salvage a result with defensive tactics, but instead left his young players to sink or swim, as he had done previously.

"I may as well explain to the fans that I don't think flooding and all those sorts of things would be in any need for us to do them tonight," he said.

"I wanted to look at whatever players we've got on our list and play them, we had another team going well like Adelaide, I did it back in Sydney in 1987, I think we got 34 goals to eight, we did it against Hawthorn in '92.

"You're always going to get beltings unfortunately in this game, but I'd rather put my players in the toughest positions in the corridor and see what we've got."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP