THE BRISBANE Lions will look to rebound this Saturday from their loss to the Western Bulldogs, against an Adelaide side that all but toppled second-placed Hawthorn on the weekend.

The Crows were comfortably accounted for by the Hawks in an earlier clash this season, but put in a far better effort in round 12 - leading for most of the game and until well into the dying minutes.

Hawthorn recovered from the shock of a second quarter report to star forward Lance Franklin, to hold its nerve when it counted, eventually emerging a four-point victor.

A brilliant sidestep paved the way for Luke Hodge to kick the decisive goal.

The Crows were led by Nathan Bock, who had 35 possessions and 16 marks against Franklin. Bock is a likely opponent for star Lions forward Jonathan Brown at the Gabba this week.

Adelaide was also well served by midfielder-come-forward Scott Thompson and the underrated Jason Porplyzia, who kicked three goals to take his season’s tally to 21.

In other weekend news, Geelong snatched top spot from Hawthorn with an easy 59-point win over Port Adelaide. Fremantle snapped an eight match losing streak with a 53-point belting of North Melbourne and Essendon posted their third victory of the season by 22 points over West Coast.

The Sydney Swans beat St Kilda by 35 points, Carlton moved into the top eight with a 20-point win over arch rival Collingwood and Richmond accounted for Melbourne by 22 points.

The Bulldogs’ Adam Cooney is a candidate for the weeks best individual performance after amassing 37 possessions against the Lions, while Fremantle’s Matthew Pavlich and Carlton’s Brendan Fevola (eight goals apiece) are other obvious candidates.

Essendon 16.17 (113) d West Coast 13.13 (91)

Essendon’s David Hille was in a dominant mood against Eagles star ruckman Dean Cox, accumulating 27 possessions, 22 hitouts, nine marks and three goals. Hille’s heroics paved the way for the Bombers to post their third win of the season and stay above the Eagles on the ladder.

Fremantle 18.12 (120) d North Melbourne 9.13 (67)

Fremantle finally returned to the winners’ circle, controlling the game throughout to inflict a 53-point defeat on the Kangaroos and earn a long-awaited opportunity to sing the club song. Nothing went right for the Roos, who lost ruckman Hamish McIntosh to a knee injury in the second quarter, while Mathew Pavlich (eight goals) and Jeffrey Farmer (27 possessions) were in rare form for the Dockers.

Sydney Swans 14.18 (102) d St Kilda 9.13 (67)

The Swans welcomed back spearhead Barry Hall, while St Kilda looks more and more like farewelling their opportunity of significant September action. A top-eight spot loomed for the Saints if they could get an upset win in Sydney, but the Swans were by far the better side and coasted to a convincing win – Ryan O’Keefe was best afield with three goals.

Hawthorn 11.10 (76) d Adelaide 10.12 (72)

In a match that had everything, including a report and haul of 1.6 from Brownlow Medal fancy Buddy Franklin, the Hawks toughed out an 11th win for the season. Adelaide, with centre half-back Nathan Bock in imperious form, looked the likely winner for much of the night, before Hawthorn showed why it held top spot going into the round, grabbing a slender but decisive lead in time-on in the last term.

Geelong 15.18 (108) d Port Adelaide 7.7 (49)

Port Adelaide’s finals dream looks shattered, after the Cats returned to something approaching their best with a comprehensive 59-point win at Skilled Stadium. The 12th placed Power started with an impressive physical approach but their final scoring shot tally of 14 to Geelong’s 33 tells an accurate tale. Joel Selwood was best afield for the Cats.

Carlton 17.17 (119) d Collingwood 12.17 (89)

The Blues moved into the top eight in the second half of a season for the first time since 2001 on the back of a brilliant eight goal display from Brendan Fevola. Prominent but inaccurate in the first quarter, Fevola booted six second-half goals, including four in the final term, as Carlton roared back into the contest having trailed by as many as 25 points in the third quarter.

Richmond 16.20 (116) d Melbourne 14.10 (94)

Richmond remains in the hunt for a final eight berth, after withstanding a spirited Melbourne fight-back to move to 11th place in the standings. The Tigers, led by five goals from Matthew Richardson, were in front by 38 points at half time, only for the Demons to narrow the gap to single figures. Nathan Brown kicked the sealing goal in his 200th game.