IT WAS back to ugly football at AAMI Stadium in the dying minutes of yesterday's match, but Adelaide coach Neil Craig made no apologies as he believes it won the game against Fremantle.

For four minutes, the Crows clung to an 11-point lead — they won by 17 — by kicking the ball backwards and sideways reminiscent of their negative worst — frustrating the Dockers and even their own fans who came to celebrate the Crows' 400th game in the AFL and finished up booing them.

It was a rather apt ending to a game marred by ball-handling errors, poor decision-making and abysmal kicking for goal — one in four Crows' disposals was an error — and that says little for Fremantle, apart from earning respect for its very good second-half recovery and persistence.

After Graham Johncock "walked through" a rushed behind with three minutes 59 seconds left on the clock, Adelaide had 23 kicks and five handballs as it wasted play. Craig lamented that he felt his side had lost momentum, so he sent his runner out to every defender.

"Fremantle was coming at us," Craig said. "We have been criticised in the past for losing close games. To keep hold of the ball for 4½ minutes requires from our playing group a lot of nerve because you have the pressure of keeping possession and the pressure of the reaction of the crowd — and I understand that. If we hadn't gone that way, we may have lost it."

Fremantle coach Mark Harvey said some Dockers didn't think through the situation well enough, and it cost them the game. He was most critical of his players being slow to react to Adelaide's ploy. However, overall, Harvey was pleased with the effort of his players as they continued to challenge.

Adelaide's stifling of the game, copping the wrath of its fans, and Fremantle's persistence saved this game from being the least memorable in Peter Bell's career.

This was his 278th, breaking Wayne Richardson's record number of VFL/AFL games by a West Australian.

If Richardson were sitting at home watching his record being smashed, he could have asked himself whether the game really has advanced since retiring in 1978. More pertinently, whether Fremantle's pre-season threat that it would make an impact on the competition for a change was merely bluff, yet again.

The Dockers earned much credit for a Jeff Farmer-led third quarter revival to go from 29 points down to get within four points seven minutes into the last, but the fact remained Adelaide didn't play well and Fremantle lost. The Dockers will sink to 14th or 15th place after this round, and at 1-5, its season is looking ugly.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect was that Adelaide almost blew a game it should have won convincingly given its opportunities, and there was no threat from its long-time bogy player, Mathew Pavlich, who was held to only 11 disposals and three behinds by Ben Rutten.

Conversely, it was Andrew McLeod, who always produces his best against Fremantle, who starred for Adelaide and ultimately sank the Dockers with two remarkable goals.

Adelaide's gameplan came unstuck by its persistence to run and handball to players already covered. This poor vision created many turnovers, but Fremantle, especially in the first half, wasn't good enough to capitalise.

Craig conceded the overuse of handballs wasn't ideal, explaining it was a fallout from the previous week when his players kicked too much against Hawthorn. The challenge, he said, was finding the right mix.

Most times, Adelaide's forwards were out of sync, especially when they tried to make things a lot harder than they actually were. Brett Burton, despite his bursts of lairising, battled well. His second and third efforts were terrific, and when he dived in to get the ball off Roger Hayden — who had fallen to the ground at the 22-minute mark of the last — to feed McLeod for his second match-saving goal, we were reminded why he can be so good.

Michael Doughty, whose strength around the ball and sheer persistence is often overlooked, also contributed well, as did Bernie Vince, whose progress as a quality AFL player has been one of the Crows' highlights this season.

Fremantle's woes are deep, and as much as Harvey tried to look on the positive side — especially the performances of his kids, namely Rhys Palmer, who was sensational in the last quarter — the fact is the Dockers have consistently started poorly this season and have yet to play enough quality quarters.

He said he was disappointed because his team lost, but happy for the way it persisted. Admirable stuff, but nothing new from the Dockers.

ADELAIDE 3.4 6.6 8.13 12.16 (88) FREMANTLE 1.1 2.5 6.9 10.11 (71)

GOALS: Adelaide: Goodwin 3, Burton 3, McLeod 2, Porplyzia 2, Tippett, Thompson.Fremantle: Farmer 3, McPharlin 2, Michael Johnson 2, Solomon, Hinkley, Thornton.

BEST: Adelaide: McLeod, Doughty, Rutten, Burton, Bassett, Symes. Fremantle: Palmer, Sandilands, Michael Johnson, Bell, Ibbotson, Hayden.

INJURIES: Fremantle: Mayne (calf) replaced in selected side by Ibbotson.

UMPIRES: McLaren, Head, Avon.

CROWD: 39,554 at AAMI Stadium.

THE UPSHOT

FREMANTLE has one win from five games and the pressure is on to make the finals. And it plays Geelong at home on Friday night. Adelaide did well to recover from its poor effort against Hawthorn.

TALKING POINT

THE Crows' last four minutes — described by coach Neil Craig as "where we killed four minutes of footy". Even their own fans booed. But it secured Adelaide the points.

HOT AND COLD

MATTHEW Pavlich was well held, and kicked only 0.3. But running hot for the Dockers was Rhys Palmer with 29 touches — in only his fourth AFL game.