Two rounds into the AFL season and Sydney look nothing like the side that finished 12th on the ladder last year.

Of extreme worry for Adelaide and their coach Neil Craig is that they are equally unrecognisable.

The Swans defeated a disorganised Adelaide by 43 points at AAMI Stadium on Sunday, their first AFL victory over the Crows since 2004.

Sydney blew the game open with a seven-goal second quarter and led by as much as 50 points before cruising home to an 18.10 (118) to 11.9 (75) triumph.

The result consigned Adelaide to consecutive defeats and a myriad of questions about their capability after starting the year with lofty expectations of a top-four berth.

Able to find far more space and time than they had dreamed of in six years of losses to the team coached by Neil Craig, Sydney played a commanding brand of football against opponents sorely lacking in system, confidence and skill.

They were driven by outstanding games from former Hawk Ben McGlynn (five goals) and Ryan O'Keefe (three) who took turns to cut the Crows to pieces across half forward.

Another recruit, former West Coast ruckman Mark Seaby, was consistently able to get his hands to the ball at the stoppages, allowing Sydney to win both the clearance and contested possession counts - much to the delight of coach Paul Roos.

"It was a really good win, we've had a lot of trouble winning against Adelaide whether it be at the SCG or here, they're a terrific side so it's as good a win as we've had for a fair while," said Roos.

"They're very hard to beat at AAMI, they've got some real quality and rightly so they're talking themselves as top four, which they should be with the talent they have, so for us it's a really important step in the development of our footy club.

"The personnel changes obviously helped, the blokes we had in were very good, McGlynn kicked five, Josh Kennedy two, Daniel Bradshaw two, Seaby two, so we've certainly improved as a side from last year."

Four of McGlynn's goals arrived as the last link in the attacking chain that burst through the Adelaide zone, making it look for all the world like he was playing as a loose man in attack.

A five-goal game by the gifted Patrick Dangerfield provided the sole ray of light for the Crows.

The loss of Scott Stevens and Nathan van Berlo had robbed Adelaide of two of their harder running and more versatile players, while none of Brett Burton, Jason Porplyzia, Ivan Maric or James Sellar - who strained a hamstring - could be expected to dominate in their first games after pre-seasons rudely interrupted by injury.

Problems in Adelaide's structure that were hinted at in the first bloomed into a full-scale emergency in the second, as Sydney clambered all over the fragile home side.

Seaby in the ruck, O'Keefe in midfield and McGlynn up forward were all proving far too clever and tough for their opponents, while skipper Brett Kirk kept Bernie Vince quiet and epitomised the kind of pressure that drew repeated Crow errors.

The Swans had not topped 100 points against Adelaide's usually miserly defence since 2001, but at halftime they were well on course to break through for both a high score and a comfortable win with 11.4 and a gaping advantage that was still there at the finish.

Craig highlighted numerous areas for concern, and admitted his men "capitulated" in the second.

"Our defensive action for the live ball in general field is poor," he said.

"Some of the decision-making of when to go up to a player and when to come back is causing us problems.

"Some of that is personnel but it can't all be based on personnel."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP