THE Crows have been smashed by 43 points in a feeble capitulation to Sydney at AAMI Stadium today.

The result buries the Swans' six-year hoodoo against the Crows, while Adelaide's second defeat in a row raises serious questions about their top eight credentials.

The Swans blew the game open with a seven-goal second quarter and led by as much as 50 points before cruising home to an 18.10 (118) to 11.9 (75) result that consigned Adelaide to consecutive defeats and a myriad of questions about their true capabilities.

Able to find far more space and time than they had dreamed of in six years of losses to the Crows, Sydney played a commanding brand of football against opponents sorely lacking in system, confidence and skill.

They were driven by outstanding games from former Hawk Ben McGlynn (five goals) and Ryan O'Keefe (three) who took turns to cut the Crows to pieces across half-forward.

Four of McGlynn's goals arrived as the last link in the attacking chain that burst through the Adelaide zone, making it look like he was playing as a loose man in attack.

Another recruit, former West Coast ruckman Mark Seaby, was consistently able to get his hands to the ball at the stoppages, allowing Sydney to win both the clearance and contested possession counts.

A five-goal game by Patrick Dangerfield provided the sole ray of light for the Crows.

The loss of Scott Stevens and Nathan van Berlo had robbed Adelaide of two of their harder running and more versatile players, while none of Brett Burton, Jason Porplyzia, Ivan Maric or James Sellar could be expected to dominate in their first games after pre-seasons interrupted by injury.

Sydney's greater fluency gave them a two-goal lead at the first change, as the Swans showed an ability to burst through the zones that had given them lost of trouble in recent years.

Problems in Adelaide's structure that were hinted at in the first quarter bloomed into a full-scale emergency in the second, as Sydney clambered all over the fragile home side.

Seaby in the ruck, O'Keefe in midfield and McGlynn up forward were all proving far too clever and tough for their opponents, while skipper Brett Kirk kept Bernie Vince quiet and epitomised the kind of pressure that drew repeated Crow errors.

The Swans had not topped 100 points against Adelaide's usually miserly defence since 2001, but at halftime they were well on course to break through for both a high score and a comfortable win with 11.4 and a gaping advantage.

Any fleeting hopes the crowd may have had of watching a stirring Adelaide riposte were wiped out in the third, as McGlynn again found himself in a ludicrous amounts of space in attack.

Though Adelaide kicked a couple of goals late in the quarter to creep within 38 points, Sydney were never in any danger of surrendering a lead they had held almost from the start.

SYDNEY 4.3 11.4 14.9 18.10 (118)

ADELAIDE 2.3 4.5 8.7 11.9 (75)

Goals: Sydney: B McGlynn 5 R O'Keefe 3 D Bradshaw 2 J Kennedy 2 M Seaby 2 A Goodes B Kirk J Moore K Jack. Adelaide: P Dangerfield 5 A McLeod 2 J Petrenko 2 B Burton R Douglas.

Best: Sydney: R O'Keefe B McGlynn M Seaby B Kirk D Hannebery L Jetta N Malceski H Grundy. Adelaide: P Dangerfield D Mackay S Thompson J Petrenko.

Umpires: Brett Rosebury, Shane McInerney, Luke Farmer.

Venue: AAMI Stadium.