Amartey kicks nine goals as soaring Swans crush Crows

Joel Amartey has kicked a career-high nine goals to lead Sydney to a 42-point come-from-behind AFL victory over Adelaide.

The Crows led by 23 points late in the second quarter of Saturday night's match at Adelaide Oval, and they overcame Amartey's first blitzkrieg to still lead by 16 points late in the third.

But Amartey's heroics eventually proved too much to handle for the Crows as Sydney kicked the next 10 goals of the match to secure the 16.13 (109) to 10.7 (67) win.

The victory was Sydney's ninth on the trot, and lifted them three wins clear on top of the ladder with a 12-1 record.

Amartey didn't have a disposal to his name at quarter-time, but he kicked four goals in the second term and another four in the third to flip the match on its head.

He added another goal in the final term to give him 9.1 from 10 disposals.

But there was no room for sentiment from coach John Longmire, with Amartey spending the dying minutes of the game on the bench despite goal No.10 beckoning.

"It was just my rotation," Amartey said with a laugh.

"The boys played a hell of a game.

"It's a team game. The service I got this evening was pretty phenomenal.

"You don't know in our forward line who's going to kick the goals each week,

"I think that's the beauty of our mids and our forward line, and that's why we're so dangerous at the moment, because anyone can have their day."

The 24-year-old's haul was the most by a Sydney player since Lance Franklin kicked 10 against Carlton in round 23, 2017.

Amartey's previous personal best was four goals, but his magical night against Adelaide boosted his season tally to 31 goals and has put him in the mix for the Coleman Medal.

For rival clubs hoping to poach Amartey, you missed your chance.

Snared with pick No.28 in the 2018 rookie draft, Amartey re-signed with Sydney last year until 2026 and has no intention of leaving.

"I love this place, I love Sydney. The boys here are my brothers now," Amartey told Fox Sports.

Errol Gulden was also huge for Sydney against the Crows with 35 disposals, 10 clearances, one goal and 766m gained, while Brodie Grundy racked up 31 possessions, nine clearances and 49 hit-outs.

Adelaide made the most of their chances in the opening term, kicking four goals to two to take an 11-point lead into the first change.

It marked the fourth consecutive match Sydney had trailed at quarter-time, and the warning bells were ringing when a Brayden Cook volley put Adelaide ahead 45-22 with seven minutes remaining in the half.

Amartey had already kicked a goal from a strong mark earlier in the second term, but he was left frustrated time and again by Sydney's poor entries, which often favoured Adelaide's defenders.

When Sydney finally fixed up their flaws, Amartey cashed in with a three-goal burst in the final five minutes of the quarter.

Amartey entered the half-time break with 4.0 from four kicks, helping reduce the margin to four points.

The Crows kicked away again after the break, and with six minutes to go in the third quarter Sydney were still yet to kick a goal for the term.

That all changed in the blink of the eye as the Swans slammed through six unanswered goals to finish the quarter, including four to Amartey.

Most of Amartey's goals came from marks, with his efforts giving Sydney a 21-point lead at the final change.

Amartey took another strong mark midway through the final quarter to kick goal No.9 with 10 minutes remaining, but goal No.10 just eluded him before he was benched late.