Geelong fought out an eight-point win over a tenacious Adelaide at GMHBA Stadium in wet and wintry conditions.
Crows defender Nick Murray's second career goal with 77 seconds left and the margin at nine points had the Crows fans thinking "maybe", but Oisin Mullin made sure of Geelong's win, simultaneously spoiling Riley Thilthorpe's thumping effort and Izak Rankine's attempted mark on the goal-line.
Adelaide stole the lead for the first time in the fourth term through acting skipper Alex Neal-Bullen's set shot, but a few behinds, coupled with Jack Martin's third major set up Geelong's 9.13 (68) to 9.6 (60) win.
The Crows' defensive combination of Jordon Butts, Murray, Max Michalanney and Josh Worrell was simply superb, but the weight of Geelong's 67 inside 50s proved too much to cope with in the end.
The Cats adjusted to the conditions from the opening ball-up, adopting a slightly chaotic game style that saw them deny the Crows from recording a forward entry until 10 minutes into the game.
By the time Ollie Henry kicked Geelong's second, the home team had already recorded 11 forward-half turnovers, but was unable to fully capitalise in the tough weather, taking just a 14-point lead into the first break.
Adelaide had sniffs throughout, looking at its best when it linked up by hand and put some pace on the ball – usually involving Rankine, Rachele and/or Jake Soligo – and it chipped away at Geelong's lead through the second term.
Rankine managed to pick up a crumb at such a speed, he had time to celebrate before kicking the ball through the goalposts, despite having just 15m of space to complete the whole play in, while Zach Guthrie lunged in vain.
Geelong's tall forwards in Jeremy Cameron and Shannon Neale were well nullified by a very sturdy Adelaide backline working well in tandem, with Jack Martin, Shaun Mannagh and Ollie Henry working hard in attack, supported by Ollie Dempsey on the wing.
The hail came down in the third term, which had already been beset with turnovers before the added difficulty factor of icy water.
In Jordan Dawson's absence, Rachele played high midfield minutes, while inclusion Zac Taylor made an impact in his first game for the year, his second and third goals coming from set shots in the driving rain in the third term.
Cameron was moved onto the wing to begin the final term, the Cats holding just a four-point lead, and their previously unsighted spearhead managed to cop a corky in the behind in the opening seconds of the final term.
SCOREBOARD
GEELONG 4.4 6.5 7.9 9.14 (68)
ADELAIDE 2.2 5.3 7.5 9.6 (60)
GOALS
Geelong: Martin 3, Dempsey 2, Stewart, O.Henry, Mannagh, Holmes
Adelaide: Taylor 3, Thilthorpe, Rachele, Cumming, Rankine, Neal-Bullen, Murray
BEST
Geelong: Holmes, Dempsey, Martin, Smith, De Koning, Blicavs
Adelaide: Rachele, Rankine, Butts, Worrell, Thilthorpe, Berry
