Adelaide has broken a nine-year curse to fight off a valiant Western Bulldogs by 22 points and earn a spot in the semifinals against Brisbane.

The Crows came into the elimination final on their home deck under intense pressure, having not won a single quarter of footy in their two finals at Adelaide Oval last season, having entered September as minor premiers.

And the demons of the straight-sets exit reared their ugly heads in the final term, many of the Crows fans stunned into silence as the Bulldogs clawed their way in front thanks to Marcus Bontempelli and Ed Richards.

However, the Crows had been the best pressure side for much of the year, and they leaned on it as they snuffed out the wildcard-winning Dogs’ hopes of a deep finals run 14.6 (90) to 9.14 (68), recording their first finals victory since losing the 2017 decider.

Izak Rankine, who had a stunning 34 disposals, two goals and seven clearances in his first final, even capped off the win with a stunner from the pocket, ensuring his side would head to the Gabba next Saturday night with confidence they can match anyone.

Coach Matthew Nicks, who was potentially coaching for his future, was given a standing ovation by the 50,000-strong crowd as his side piled on the entertainment in the final moments.

The final term had flipped on its head in a matter of minutes as the Dogs kicked three unanswered majors to level scores.

Aaron Naughton’s third poster of the evening even handed the visitors the unlikeliest of leads.

But the Crows seized upon the missed chance, flying to the other end of the ground for a clutch Riley Thilthorpe goal before retiring superstar Taylor Walker kicked the next in a gut punch to the Dogs’ momentum.

Adelaide’s pressure saw off the Dogs’ next few forward thrusts before Darcy Fogarty put the final nail in the coffin with a 40-metre set shot.

Walker was given a rousing reception in the final 30 seconds as he ran back onto the ground for the final time in Adelaide, while his family joined him on the ground after the siren.

Adelaide defenders Wayne Milera (27 disposals) and Josh Worrell (34) were outstanding, Josh Rachele kicked three goals, and Rankine, Fogarty, Ben Keays and Brayden Cook booted two each.

The Dogs’ prime movers Ed Richards (27 touches, two goals), Marcus Bontempelli (27) and Joel Freijah (24) were busy, as was Bailey Williams, while Arthur Jones and Will Lewis also kicked two goals apiece.

The Bulldogs suffered a late withdrawal in bizarre circumstance when defender Michael Sellwood was hit in the head by a football during the on-field warm-up and concussed.

The Dogs conceded the first goal of the game, scored by Adelaide’s Fogarty, but then dominated general play to log 12 inside-50s to three.

But the visitors couldn’t cash in, with Richards scoring their sole goal in the term - the Crows led 3.1 to 1.7 at quarter-time.

Adelaide’s advantage stretched to 12 points with a Rachele major, before the Bulldogs rallied with three goals in four minutes.

The spurt included a Jones strike after a dubious free kick that enraged the 51,370-strong pro-Crows crowd - their mood didn’t improve when the Dog blew them kisses after converting.

The visitors were six points ahead but Adelaide responded with the next three goals - at halftime, the hosts were ahead 7.2 to 5.8.

The Crows seemingly made a decisive move with two goals to none in the third term to create a 19-point buffer at the last change.

But the Dogs hit the front with three goals and two behinds, including an Aaron Naughton shot that hit the post.

The Naughton poster was followed by Adelaide’s game-breaking retort, with big guns Thilthorpe, Walker and Fogarty firing the Crows into the semi-finals.

Rankine, with a remarkable snap from a near-impossible angle, and Rachele then iced victory with late goals.

- with AAP