As befits the owner of two Norm Smith Medals, Andrew McLeod had little trouble rising to the occasion of game No.300.

Adelaide marked his milestone with a ceremonial 63-point AFL thumping of Richmond at a damp AAMI Stadium, and McLeod made it particularly memorable by firing through a trademark running goal in the second term of a 16.12 (108) to 6.9 (45) victory.

Influential in his signature half-back role, McLeod had plenty of assistance from all over the field as the sixth-placed Crows took another step toward sewing up a top eight berth and dented Richmond's chances of doing the same.

"From the season's perspective we all know how the premiership table is tightening up so it was a pretty critical game for both clubs," Crows coach Neil Craig said.

"It's good for us because a win makes it a bit better for Andrew, great for him.

"We kicked over 100 points in those conditions and for our forward line to have 12 goal scorers ... we've just got to keep finding ways of making sure we can kick a score.

"In the first half I thought our kicking in particular was very good and we got some really powerful running, which you could argue we've lacked a bit."

Scott Stevens (two goals), Nathan van Berlo, Michael Doughty and Brad Symes all contributed strongly, while Nathan Bock's early dominance of Matthew Richardson set the tone for the afternoon.

In conditions made difficult by a dead surface, wind and intermittent rain, the home side's proficiency in close - exemplified by several chains of instinctive handballs - accounted for much of the difference.

Former Crow Kane Johnson and Shane Tuck fought hardest for the Tigers, who actually started the better of the two sides.

As happened when they met at the MCG in round 11, Richmond managed to impress early with their intensity around the ball, and Joel Bowden was able to mark his 250th game by snapping the first Tigers goal.

But the Crows soaked up significant pressure, aided by questionable Tigers foot skills, and at quarter time had established an 11-point break.

Kicking with the wind in the second, the Crows quickly set about squeezing all life out of Richmond and the contest.

As if on cue, a McLeod collector's item arrived midway through the procession.

Taking a handball out of a stoppage at half forward, McLeod sprinted clear before nailing his goal with typical panache from 50m - though it must be said he was generously allowed a few extra strides beyond the usual 10m limit.

As so often happens when a game is blown apart early, the second half offered little of note other than a string of Adelaide attacks amid a handful of Richmond bright spots from Johnson and Deledio.

The neatest microcosm of the Tigers' day was provided by Richardson, who was blanketed early and then missed badly each time he caught a sight of goal.

Coach Terry Wallace was desolate after a defeat that took his team's September aspirations out of their hands.

"We're bitterly disappointed with our performance, season on the line stuff and to come over and not play our game style was disappointing," he said.

"It started virtually from the first kick of the game.

"They played the basics of the game a hell of a lot better than what we did from start to finish, and that was clearly the difference between the two sides."

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