Adelaide Crows beat Essendon by 112 points at Docklands to break into top eight

Eddie Betts's five-goal AFL haul has helped Adelaide thump a sorry Essendon by 112 points.

The Crows continued their campaign for finals football by thrashing James Hird's side 27.9 (171) to 8.11 (59); Essendon's second loss by more than a hundred points in seven rounds.

Adelaide needed a quarter to click into gear, but then an hour of dominant football ensured its return to the top eight.

Between two running goals from Dangerfield in the first and third terms, the Crows kicked 12 unanswered goals to settle the contest.

With the match in the bag, the Crows produced their best ever final term to utterly crush the Bombers with 11 goals.

Betts kicked five goals for the game, with best-afield Patrick Dangerfield, Taylor Walker and Josh Jenkins kicking with three each.

Dangerfield and Rory Laird powered Adelaide in the midfield. The Crows attacked relentlessly and finished with 14 different goalkickers.

Time and again the Bombers erred while trying to clear their lines, allowing Adelaide to lay siege to their goal.

The thumping is the latest in a woeful end to the Bombers' season, with James Hird's side losing 10 of their past 11 outings.

The Bombers at least started well, with the fit-again David Myers winning the first clearance on his return from injury.

Cale Hooker's two goals gave Essendon a six-point lead at the first change.

At full-time that lead felt like a fantasy as the Crows took total control.

Goals from Rory Sloane and Jarryd Lyons gave Adelaide the lead, with Essendon well off the pace.

Hooker was playing a lone hand in the Bombers' forward line but shanked a set shot from 20 metres out to keep them in the contest.

The miss felt like a turning point and so it proved as the Crows ran away with the contest.

Betts and Taylor Walker added to their first-term majors with goals to push the Crows to a five-goal half-time break and crack the match open.

Betts continued the rout with a never-say-die effort inside the goalsquare to open the third term.

Essendon finally arrested the streak through Shaun Edwards but the Crows were far from done.

Playing as if hunting a massive percentage boost, Adelaide slammed on six goals in nine fourth-quarter minutes without response as it cut the Dons to ribbons.

Betts saved his best until last, threading the needle from a set shot outside the boundary line to cap his five-star performance.