Adelaide has climbed to third place on the AFLW ladder after defeating St Kilda by four points at Norwood Oval.

Following their season-opening loss to reigning premiers Brisbane, Adelaide never led by more than seven points on Friday en way to a hard-fought 3.8 (26) to 3.4 (22) triumph.

The win moved the Crows, who are currently 5-1 this season, to within two points of ladder leaders North Melbourne.

St Kilda (3-3) lost their third consecutive defeat, although they remain seventh on percentage, ahead of Essendon.

Adelaide maintained their spotless record against the Saints, winning their fifth straight game and avoiding consecutive defeats for the first time since 2020.

The Crows added 14 more inside 50s and 21 more contested possessions, but failed to create scoring opportunities against a tenacious Saints defense that smothered multiple attempts.

The Saints trailed after each quarter, but they also struggled in the forward half, taking only two marks inside 50.

With little under nine minutes remaining, Hannah Stuart scored to bring them within one point.

The Saints failed to score again, while the Crows added three more behinds to seal the win.

“There was a lot to like other than our ball use and ability to take advantage of our opportunities,” Crows coach Matthew Clarke said.

Adelaide dynamo Ebony Marinoff had 31 touches, 17 tackles, 16 contested possessions, nine clearances, and six marks.

The Saints’ trend of low scoring continues, with just two goals in their past two games and three in the one before that.

The Saints scored first on Friday night, with Molly McDonald grabbing a mark and putting through a set shot.

However, they did not kick their second until the final 25 seconds of the third quarter, when J’Noemi Anderson scored a major.

That tied the game, but Chelsea Randall’s last-second kick bounced over a couple of defenders, giving the Crows a six-point advantage into the fourth quarter.

Adelaide’s Hannah Munyard scored one of the finest AFLW goals of the season, racing away just inside the boundary line in the first quarter and converting a checkside kick from an extreme angle to give the Crows the lead.

Tyanna Smith worked hard for the Saints, totaling 22 touches, 14 tackles, and 8 clearances.

“I was really proud of our group; I thought we really stuck at it, and it was a really hard-fought game,” Saints coach Nick Dal Santo said.

“We’re pleased with some aspects of our game but we’d like to score more goals.”

Adelaide’s Abbie Ballard, who had just recently recovered from an ACL injury, was pulled out of the game and was spotted with an ice pack strapped to her left knee.

“She has a past there, so we were really cautious. So she will need to undergo a scan, and we’ll see where this goes,” Clarke added.

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