Adelaide has suffered a 33-point loss in Sydney following a poor start to the Round 19 clash.

When Callum Mills kicked Sydney’s tenth goal 45 seconds into the second quarter, the margin was 48 points and things looked ominous for Adelaide.

But bit by bit, Matthew Nicks’ side halted the Swans momentum and gradually pegged back the margin to ensure John Longmire endured a frustrating day on the interchange bench before it finished 17.16 (118) to 12.13 (85).

The Crows will return home without the sixth win of the season they were searching for, but they will return with some confidence after kicking 10 of the 16 goals registered after quarter-time in a head-scratching game in conditions that started wet but finished dry.

Lance Franklin was engaged in an intriguing contest with Adelaide key defender Nick Murray, who limited the four-time Coleman Medallist for a large part of the game, but couldn’t prevent the Sydney star from continuing his rise up the record books.

Franklin surpassed Geelong icon Gary Ablett snr (1031 goals) to move up to No.5 on the all-time goalkicking leaderboard and finished the afternoon with 1034 next to his name.

Adelaide's Rory Laird amassed 38 disposals, 11 clearances, six tackles and 848m gained to clearly be the most dominant player on the ground.

Young Crows midfielder Sam Berry booted two goals in the second term and finished the day with 24 touches and 14 tackles.

SYDNEY           9.3       11.7      13.14      17.16 (118)
ADELAIDE        2.3       6.5        9.10        12.13 (85)

GOALS  
Sydney: Franklin 3, Hayward 3, Heeney 2, Papley 2, Amartey, Clarke, Gulden, Mills, Reid, Stephens, Warner
Adelaide: Walker 3, Berry 2, Dawson, Fogarty, Laird, McHenry, Milera, Murphy, Soligo

BEST   
Sydney: Blakey, Mills, Papley, Stephens, Parker, Warner, Franklin
Adelaide: Laird, Berry, Keays, O’Brien, Walker

INJURIES  
Sydney: Nil
Adelaide: Shane McAdam (corked quad)

MEDICAL SUBS
Sydney: Sam Wicks (unused)
Adelaide: Brayden Cook (replaced Shane McAdam in second quarter)