Ruckman Sam Jacobs fancies himself as an extra midfielder, but admits dribble shots on the run probably won’t become part of his repertoire after a narrow escape in front of goal on Saturday night.

Defender Brodie Smith found Jacobs in space 20 metres out from Adelaide’s goal late in the third quarter against Fremantle.

The 202cm tall took an uncontested mark and, instead of going back and taking a set shot on a slight angle, played on as a Dockers defender closed in.

His dribble kick was on trajectory for a behind until the sodden Sherrin caught a lucky break on the edge of the goal square.

Jacobs saw the funny side, wiping his brow to show his relief after the umpire signaled a goal, which put the Crows 91 points up.

“Probably, go back and know your limitations!” Jacobs said when asked what the coach's instruction would've been.

“But I thought I had a fair bit of space there. I turned around and just wanted to get it (the kick) off as quick as I could.

"It was all measured and my plan went perfectly!

“I’m glad it went through or I reckon I would’ve got a message (from the coaches).”

Jacobs was instrumental in Adelaide’s midfield dominance against the Dockers.

In torrential rain, the Crows got first hands on the ball and also pressured their opponents into error.

The home team won the contested possession count 177 – 139, clearances 41 – 36 and inside 50ms 72 – 40 on its way to an emphatic 100-point win.

Vice-captain Rory Sloane, brothers Matt and Brad Crouch and wingman Rory Atkins all collected 30-plus possessions, as the Crows generated 43 scoring shots to Fremantle’s 13.

“I think we just put them on the back foot right from the start,” Jacobs said.

“We know how important the contest is and we executed that really well tonight. Especially in the first half, we were able to play in our half of the ground and get repeat inside 50ms.

“A real pillar of our game is our contested stuff. We’re right up there in the contested ball stat in the comp. It’s actually nice to be able to start like we did tonight because we probably haven’t started as well as we wanted this year.”

The Dockers were without the leading hit-out winner in the competition, Aaron Sandilands.

Sandilands was ruled out with hamstring tightness during the week, paving the way for former Crow Jon Griffin to return.

“Griff is a great ruckman in his own right. He’s played a lot of footy now,” Jacobs said.

“When I got the news that ‘Sandi’ wasn’t playing on a wet night, I admit, it was alright.

“Griff and I had another good battle tonight.”

Jacobs won 40 hit-outs, gathered 13 possessions and took five marks against Fremantle.

It was a strong performance particularly given the difficult conditions.

“It was probably the first time I’ve played in rain like that in 18 months,” Jacobs said.

“It wasn’t bad to get out there, but at the centre bounce when I jumped up I couldn’t actually see the ball.

“I sort of just had to throw the hand up and see if I could hit it!”

Despite the horrible weather, more than 42,000 fans turned out to support the top-of-the-table Crows.

“I said to Hughy Greenwood before the game, that even with the conditions like that I’ve got no doubt our people will turn out, as they do every week,” Jacobs said.

“We’re very fortunate to play in front of the fans we do here.

“It’s great to be able to get a win because last time we played (at home against) Melbourne we lost, so it’s always nice to reward the fans with good footy at home.”

Adelaide will now turn its attention to Friday night’s clash with Geelong at Simonds Stadium.

The Cats have won the past four meetings between the team by an average margin of 32 points.

“We haven’t played our best footy down there (in Geelong), but what footy does is present another chance and another opportunity for us to go down there and put our game on display on Friday night footy,” Jacobs said.

“Hopefully, we can play well like we did tonight.”