Given the margin and the way the game played out, Jack Darling was – quite measurably – the difference.

The competition’s most awesome triple threat delivered in attack yet again for West Coast, with Jack Darling, Josh Kennedy and Oscar Allen booting 11 goals between them.

It came despite the efficient Eagles losing both the contested ball (144-132) and inside-50 (56-48) counts on their way to dismissing struggling Adelaide today.

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Ruckman Nic Naitanui and onballer Tim Kelly were also influential as West Coast got home by 30 points, 16.10 (106) to 11.10 (76), at Optus Stadium.

With the Eagles trailing the Crows early in the second term after an uninspiring opening, it was Darling – who had just one handball in the opening term – who blew the game open like only he can.

It came with the help of a string of quick centre clearances, in what was the Adelaide defence’s worst nightmare given the marking firepower West Coast had lying in wait.

Darling monstered opponent Tom Doedee for three marks and three goals in four minutes and finished the quarter with two more to make it five for the term.

The Eagles led by 29 points at half-time, and while the Crows got three of the first four majors in the second half, they were never seriously threatened.

Naitanui won his battle with nemesis Reilly O’Brien to give West Coast huge impetus from stoppages, even unloading a rare torpedo just before three-quarter time which led to a goal for Jake Waterman.

Kelly continued his rich vein of form with 31 touches and 11 clearances and he was responsible for seven of his team’s 13 clearances from centre bounces.

Defender Alex Witherden inflated his numbers with plenty of kick outs, but offered plenty of rebound with 30 disposals and looks a strong chance to hold his place when Shannon Hurn returns.

Forward Jamie Cripps began on the wing and finished with 25 touches, a goal and three score assists in an excellent outing.

Adelaide midfielder Rory Laird was superb with a game-high 35 disposals, 10 clearances and a goal but didn’t have the support as the Crows sunk to their fifth straight defeat.

OH DARLING

Darling is mounting a case to be named All-Australian for the second time in his career after his five-goal bag took his season tally to 26 goals from nine games.

He has kicked multiple goals in every game bar one and it is the highest goals-per-game tally of his career.

But while his ability to clunk big pack grabs and kick accurately was a feature of his second-quarter purple patch, the Darling domination came with a couple of signature head-scratching moments.

After marking close to goal and going back to kick his fourth set shot goal, he inexplicably chose to dribble the ball through along the ground seemingly oblivious to the presence of Crows defender Brodie Smith.

The goal review revealed the ball had somehow gone between Smith’s legs untouched before crossing the goal line, making Darling the first player to kick 100 goals at the Burswood venue.

A few minutes later when Darling spilled a simple uncontested mark in front of his face in characteristic fashion, he quickly made up for it by gathering the loose ball and nailing his fifth goal for the quarter from an even tougher angle. He has long made the easy look hard and the hard look easy and it was a play that summed up his career.

Watching on, Peter Sumich reminded fans from the radio commentary box that he once booted seven goals in the third quarter of his 13-goal rampage against Footscray at the WACA Ground in 1991.

UP THERE, MCADAM

WA product Ronin O’Connor found the going tough on debut, but another local in Shane McAdam relished a return to his home state after earning a recall.

Wearing the number 23 made famous by Andrew McLeod, McAdam soared onto the heads of teammate Billy Frampton and opponent Tom Barrass in the first quarter to drag down a speccy.

The exciting Halls Creek product, a mature-age pick-up in 2018, didn’t get a lot of the ball but was his team’s leading goal scorer with three.

EMPTY SEATS

The Eagles have 100,000 members and a waiting list for seated membership, but getting bums on seats in the COVID era remains an issue.

The crowd of 43,427 was less than three-quarters full and roughly the capacity of the old Subiaco Oval.

It was West Coast’s lowest attendance at Optus Stadium for a game when 100 per cent crowds have been allowed, falling short of the previous low of 46,854 against the Western Bulldogs in round 18, 2018.

Health concerns, ticketing changes and lack of certainty regarding often-changing crowd rules have all been cited as possible causes.