Crows keep winning

Adelaide key forward Kurt Tippett has given Gold Coast fans a possible taste of things to come with a matchwinning performance in the Crows' hard fought win over Richmond at Carrara on Saturday night.

Tippett, who was recruited to the Crows from Gold Coast based QAFL club Southport and who will be one of the new club's number one recruiting targets ahead of their entry to the competition in 2011, relished his return to home soil.

The strong marking 201cm, 22-year-old booted five goals - including four in the first half - to set up the Crows' 15.12 (102) to 13.7 (85) victory.

It was the Crows' sixth win in a row and lifts Neil Craig's in-form side up to fifth place on the ladder and keeps alive their hopes of securing the double chance come September while, at the very least a home elimination final now beckons.

But the Crows missed out on the chance to boost their percentage - which could prove vital in deciding fourth spot at the end of the season - after the Tigers outscored them by five goals to one in the final term.

For Richmond - in what was caretaker coach Jade Rawlings' third game in charge - it was a much improved performance on last week's dismal 56 point loss to St Kilda when the team went scoreless for two quarters.

But the Crows remain one of Richmond's many bogy teams having won 12 of 13 clashes against the Tigers this decade - their only loss being in the infamous 'basketball crap' game at Docklands in 2006 when former coach Terry Wallace ordered his team to play keepings off against Adelaide.

However, despite the closeness of the final scores on Saturday night, there was never any danger of the 14th placed Tigers causing a similar upset this time around in what was the club's first ever home match staged outside Victoria and the last game to be played at Carrara before the entry of the new Gold Coast team in 2011.

The Crows all but ended the match as a contest after just 20 minutes when they already led five goals to nil, thanks to the early dominance of Tippett - who comes out of contract at the end of the 2010 season, just before Gold Coast enters the competition.

From then on the Tigers, who have won just three games all season, were more than competitive, but until the final term - when the heat had gone out of the game and the Crows appeared to be in cruise mode - they simply struggled to break through Adelaide's tight defence.

With Matthew Richardson still sidelined, the Tigers' key forwards Mitch Morton and Jack Riewoldt were badly outmatched against the Crows gigantic key defensive pairing of Ben Rutten and Nathan Bock, who dominated all night.

Bock was not only impassable but was actually the Crows' equal leading possession getter at three-quarter-time - such was his influence on the contest.

It was the Tigers first game at Carrara since 1991 but for the Crows it was their third win from three attempts at the ground in four seasons after having already beaten Melbourne there in 2006 and North Melbourne in 2007.

The Crows were also well served by Graham Johncock, who swept up everything at ground level in defence to perfectly complement the work of Rutten