SYDNEY blew a golden opportunity to cement fourth spot on the AFL ladder last night, going down by 24 points to Adelaide.

The Crows led at all changes and seldom looked capable of being toppled by the injury-crippled Swans, who couldn't find a reliable avenue to goal despite Barry Hall's return from a club suspension.

From the 20th minute of the second term to the 21st minute of the final term, Sydney could manage only nine behinds as the Crows kept the scoreboard ticking over, disappointing the majority of the 26,260 fans at the SCG.

For those teams competing for that all-important fourth spot, it was a Saturday shocker yet somehow the Swans maintain their six-point buffer over the chasing pack.

But for Sydney coach Paul Roos, it's the health of his players that has him worried, with Adam Goodes (hamstring), Henry Playfair (hamstring) and late-withdrawal Nick Malceski all added to a growing injury list.

"History will tell you that going into this point of the year, you need to be healthy if you want play your best footy," Roos said after the game, also confirming that Michael O'Loughlin could miss the next month while Leo Barry remains a chance to return next week.

"I suppose it's a null and void round with St Kilda and Brisbane and Collingwood (losing), but the concern for us is the health of the team rather than tonight's result. We're probably (fourth) by default.

"(Goodes) really struggled and we obviously had to keep him on the ground at times, but if we hadn't have had an injury to Henry, he probably would have been off the ground. He couldn't compete at all and that was frustrating for him."

Despite losing their previous five matches and dropping from fifth to ninth the Crows are back in the eight. The result also continues their recent domination of the Swans, making it nine wins from the past 10 clashes, including five of the past six at the SCG.

The Swans began the better, kicking the first goal of the game through Darren Jolly as Hall almost enjoyed the ideal return to senior football, very nearly marking Luke Ablett's opening clearance. However, his influence from then was minimal, and Roos admitted he "struggled" to keep pace with the game.

The Crows eventually got on the board midway through the first term via Bryce Campbell before Simon Goodwin broke free of his marker for another, with Nick Gill making it three in as many minutes after a terrific grab 35 metres out.

Sensing a trend was developing, Sydney's Luke Ablett showed his opportunistic side to snap home from close range, reducing the margin to nine points at quarter-time.

The hosts were stifled by the defensive tactics of Adelaide coach Neil Craig, who used every chance to get numbers behind the ball.

Hoping to break the visitors' early resilience in the second term, the opposite happened for the Swans as the Crows busted a 12-minute deadlock with a pair of goals to Jason Porplyzia and Simon Goodwin, extending the margin to 20 points.

The Bloods looked to have found their way back into the contest with goals to Craig Bird and Matt O'Dwyer, but David Mackay roved Kurt Tippett's ruckwork superbly for his first before Porplyzia nailed his second.

Just as half-time was about to tick by, Porplyzia made it three for the term and the margin broke out to 23 points at the main break.

The third term saw both teams goalless, but while the Swans kept pumping the ball inside 50 metres, their execution around goal was woeful and sometimes plain unlucky.

While the 21-point lead at the final change was hardly insurmountable, the Crows' work rate meant they looked good for the win as Sydney's forward line offered little.

ADELAIDE 3.6 8.7 8.10 11.11 (77)
SYDNEY  2.3 4.8 4.13 6.17 (53)

GOALS Adelaide: Porplyzia 5, Goodwin 2, Campbell, Gill, Mackay, Symes. Sydney: Ablett, Bird, Hall, Jolly, Mathews, O'Dwyer.

BEST Adelaide: Porplyzia, Vince, Bassett, Edwards, Rutten, McLeod, Shirley. Sydney: O'Keefe, Kennelly, Kirk.

UMPIRES Vozzo, Armstrong, McInerney.

CROWD 26,260 at the SCG.