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Eagles put a dent in Adelaide’s finals hopes

Spearhead Josh Kennedy slotted five goals as West Coast dented Adelaide’s finals aspirations with a 31-point upset win in Saturday’s AFL match.

The Eagles conceded the first four goals but still triumphed, winning 20.16 (136) to 16.9 (105) at Adelaide Oval.

Adelaide could slip out of the top eight by the end of the round despite the efforts of their key forward Taylor Walker, who kicked four goals.

The Eagles, in 11th spot, remain a mathematical chance of sneaking into the finals after a heroic win inspired by Kennedy, Andrew Gaff (three goals, 31 disposals), Matt Priddis (31 touches) and Luke Shuey (30 possessions), while Jack Darling kicked three goals.

The Crows were well-served by midfielders Brad Crouch (30 touches) and Scott Thompson (31 disposals) and Josh Jenkins and Eddie Betts potted three goals each.

But Adelaide folded meekly late: they led by two points at the start of the last term but were over-run.

The Crows had launched an early blitz, kicking four goals in the initial 10 minutes to thrill their parochial 49,470-strong home crowd.

But the unfancied Eagles rallied in style: by the eighth minute of the second stanza, the visitors had turned their deficit into a 24-point lead.

With Gaff and Priddis ruling the midfield, the visitors held a 12-point break at halftime before Adelaide responded with six goals to four in the third term to sneak to a two-point advantage at the final change.

But despite seemingly having more to play for than the Eagles, the Crows were overwhelmed in the last quarter, with West Coast kicking the opening five goals, including three more majors to Kennedy.

The key Eagles attacker benefited from his Adelaide opponent Daniel Talia being substituted from the game at halftime – the Crows defender was concussed when copping an accidental knee to the cheekbone from Kennedy.

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