As befits the owner of two Norm Smith Medals, Andrew McLeod had little trouble rising to the occasion of game No.300.

Adelaide marked his milestone with a ceremonial 63-point AFL thumping of Richmond at a damp AAMI Stadium, and McLeod made it particularly memorable by firing through a trademark running goal in the second term of a 16.12 (108) to 6.9 (45) victory.

Influential in his signature half-back role, McLeod had plenty of assistance from all over the field as the sixth-placed Crows took another step toward sewing up a top eight berth and dented Richmond’s chances of doing the same.

“From the season’s perspective we all know how the premiership table is tightening up so it was a pretty critical game for both clubs,” Crows coach Neil Craig said.

“It’s good for us because a win makes it a bit better for Andrew, great for him.

“We kicked over 100 points in those conditions and for our forward line to have 12 goal scorers … we’ve just got to keep finding ways of making sure we can kick a score.

“In the first half I thought our kicking in particular was very good and we got some really powerful running, which you could argue we’ve lacked a bit.”

Scott Stevens (two goals), Nathan van Berlo, Michael Doughty and Brad Symes all contributed strongly, while Nathan Bock’s early dominance of Matthew Richardson set the tone for the afternoon.

In conditions made difficult by a dead surface, wind and intermittent rain, the home side’s proficiency in close – exemplified by several chains of instinctive handballs – accounted for much of the difference.

Former Crow Kane Johnson and Shane Tuck fought hardest for the Tigers, who actually started the better of the two sides.

As happened when they met at the MCG in round 11, Richmond managed to impress early with their intensity around the ball, and Joel Bowden was able to mark his 250th game by snapping the first Tigers goal.

But the Crows soaked up significant pressure, aided by questionable Tigers foot skills, and at quarter time had established an 11-point break.

Kicking with the wind in the second, the Crows quickly set about squeezing all life out of Richmond and the contest.

As if on cue, a McLeod collector’s item arrived midway through the procession.

Taking a handball out of a stoppage at half forward, McLeod sprinted clear before nailing his goal with typical panache from 50m – though it must be said he was generously allowed a few extra strides beyond the usual 10m limit.

As so often happens when a game is blown apart early, the second half offered little of note other than a string of Adelaide attacks amid a handful of Richmond bright spots from Johnson and Deledio.

The neatest microcosm of the Tigers’ day was provided by Richardson, who was blanketed early and then missed badly each time he caught a sight of goal.

Coach Terry Wallace was desolate after a defeat that took his team’s September aspirations out of their hands.

“We’re bitterly disappointed with our performance, season on the line stuff and to come over and not play our game style was disappointing,” he said.

“It started virtually from the first kick of the game.

“They played the basics of the game a hell of a lot better than what we did from start to finish, and that was clearly the difference between the two sides.”

Snapshot of AFL round 19.

THEY SAID IT: “Under the circumstances – it’s been a pretty torrid week – we were able to generate enough enthusiasm and enough desire to play a very good football side and win.” – Coach Mick Malthouse after Collingwood ended a bad week on a good note.

STATS THAT MATTER: Geelong’s triple-double. Their win over Melbourne on Friday night was their 10th in succession, after a winning streak of 15 last year and a run of 12 straight wins spanning the end last season and the start of this one. The Cats have won 37 of their past 39 games.

MAN OF THE ROUND: Brent Harvey. North Melbourne’s big little man showed up Jason Akermanis and starred in the Kangaroos’ win over the Western Bulldogs. He could be the one to shake Gary Ablett’s hold on the Brownlow Medal.

MAGIC MOMENT: Hawthorn’s Lance Franklin and Collingwood’s Leon Davis kicked brilliant goals, but a courageous mark taken by Sydney’s Paul Bevan went a long way to allowing the Swans to hang on to beat Fremantle on Saturday night.

TALKING POINT: Low scoring. Melbourne took 53 minutes to score their first goal against Geelong, the Brisbane Lions could manage only two in three quarters against Hawthorn yesterday and Richmond languished on one goal until well into the third quarter against Adelaide today. The Olyroos might score more regularly.

KEY INJURIES: Josh Drummond (BL, quad), Eddie Betts (Carl, hamstring), Travis Boak (Port, hip), Mark Blake (Geel, elbow), Bernie Vince (Adel, hamstring).

REPORTS: Aaron Fiora (St K, for striking).

UNDER PRESSURE THIS WEEK: In such a close race for positions 4-8, the nine sides below Geelong, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs cannot afford slip-ups. But the Bulldogs have the wobbles with three defeats from their past four games.

© AAP 2012

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