The only thing sub-standard about a heavily weakened Geelong side was their opposition.

Despite being without eight first-choice players, the Cats' unbeaten AFL season continued as they belted Adelaide by 52 points at Skilled Stadium on Sunday.

It was the Cats' 13th successive win this year, and their 27th in a row at their impenetrable home ground fortress.

Without a group of injured and suspended stars which would decimate most sides, the Cats made light of it in a comfortable 19.11 (125) to 10.13 (73) victory - showcasing a depth the equal of any side in the competition.

Adelaide fell to their sixth successive defeat, paying heavily for their failure to launch early in the match.

Their fate was sealed by quarter-time as the Cats ran amok in a seven-goals-to-one opening term.

The Cats led by 38 points at quarter-time, 46 by halftime and extended the margin beyond 10 goals by the final change.

Geelong led by as much as 80 points in the final term before the Crows lifted with the game lost, booting five of the last six goals as the Cats appeared to put the cue in the rack.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig admitted he was no closer to bridging the gap between the Crows' best and their worst - the latter on show for large parts of Sunday's match.

"Apart from the competitive nature of our effort (late in the game), there wasn't much good stuff today," Craig said.

"Our best - I'm happy to say is very, very good. Our worst is sub-standard AFL, and that's a huge gap."

Geelong's back six were outstanding, and along with superb work from midfielders Travis Varcoe and Allen Christensen, laid the foundation for the win.

Corey Enright dominated with 35 possessions running loose in the backline, while Tom Lonergan, Harry Taylor and Matthew Scarlett were a defensive brick wall - easily repelling the Crows every time they got a sniff of attack.

Youngsters Daniel Menzel and first-gamer Mitch Brown booted three goals apiece - leading 11 individual goalkickers for Geelong.

The Cats managed the win without Jimmy Bartel, Joel Selwood, Mathew Stokes, Josh Hunt, Darren Milburn, Nathan Vardy and late withdrawals James Kelly and Brad Ottens.

Coach Chris Scott admitted the future and depth of the Cats heading towards the business end of the season were both hugely encouraging.

"We have a lot of young players ready to play at AFL level and I think we saw that a little bit today," Scott said.

"It does give our supporters an insight into what our side might look like in three to four years, and we think the signs are pretty positive."

Crows midfielder Bernie Vince booted two goals, had 34 touches and was his side's best.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP