Carlton coach Brett Ratten redefined the sporting cliche "on fire" after the Blues fell an agonising eight points short of Adelaide on Saturday.

Normally reserved for players or teams in rare good form, Ratten applied the cliche to his wasteful charges after their season-shaping loss at AAMI Stadium.

"Burning, I reckon we were pretty much on fire, because everything we touched we pretty much destroyed," Ratten said.

"Our kicking, we had 72 clanger, ineffectual kicks - to get as close as we did was not a bad effort. You can't win AFL games of footy kicking the football like we did today.

"I thought we had enough of the ball to hurt Adelaide but we gave it back and paid the price."

Adelaide's 13.16 (94) to 12.14 (86) victory entrenched them in the top eight while Ratten's Blues now likely to need to win all four remaining matches to feature in the finals.

The Crows' triumph was based on spirit rather than skill, and came via unlikely sources after star forward Jason Porplyzia was knocked out and dislocated his wonky shoulder in a second quarter incident.

Porplyzia was pushed off balance by a Carlton player and while falling, his head cannoned into the upper arm of Blues youngster Steven Browne - the Crows instantly knocked out in an incident to be scrutinised by the match review panel.

Porplyzia's right shoulder simultaneously popped out, but as his coach Neil Craig dead-panned: "At least he didn't feel the pain."

Ratten dismissed the Porplyzia incident as "accidental contact", but it proved a game changer: Adelaide, trailing by almost three goals at the time, was galvanised by the sight of their mate unconscious on a stretcher and kicked nine of the next 13 goals to wrest control of the contest.

The home town hero was unheralded Brad Moran, who kicked four majors in just his third game for the Crows and sixth AFL match overall.

Moran's feats countered the influence of Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola, who booted four opening half majors and five for the match.

Moran, a former Kangaroo, snared three goals in a third term purple patch which ensured Adelaide turned a one-point halftime deficit into a commanding 24 point lead at three quarter time.

The bottle-blonde Moran was the beneficiary of an influential display from midfielder Nathan van Berlo, who amassed 40 disposals in a best afield performance.

Van Berlo was ably supported by a cast including Tyson Edwards (22 touches, two goals) and Robert Shirley, whose two timely goals headlined his restraining effort on Blues skipper Chris Judd, who had only 15 low profile possessions.

Edwards' second major early in the last quarter gave Adelaide a 32 point lead, but the Blues then launched a spirited late charge which featured three goals in as many minutes and then a heart-wrenching six consecutive behinds to creep within eight points at the final siren.

With Porplyzia and Chris Knights (hamstring) both sidelined, Adelaide triumphed with just 20 fit players in the last half of a win coach Craig described as "enormous".

"To be able to get that win against a side which jumped us early, and to have to play with 20 players for half a game, and on top of the premiership table situation, an enormous win, an enormous win that will hold us in good stead," Craig said.

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