Adelaide forward Taylor Walker kicked five goals as the Crows burst Carlton’s pre-season bubble with a three-point victory on Friday night.

Walker’s haul included two super-goals as Adelaide triumphed 4.11.7 (109) to 2.13.10 (106) at AAMI Stadium to inflict Carlton’s first defeat this pre-season and under new coach Mick Malthouse.

The Crows were sparked by Walker and dual club champion Scott Thompson, who collected 26 disposals, while Bernie Vince and David Mackay were also prominent.

Carlton’s Kane Lucas booted three goals, teammate Dennis Armfield capped a fine game with two majors while Brock McLean was a standout with 24 touches and two goals, including a super-goal.

Adelaide laid the platform for their victory with a dominant third term which returned six goals to Carlton’s two.

The scoring spree came after smooth passages of play in a free-flowing opening, with the scores locked at 2.7.4 (64) apiece at halftime.

And both teams booted two super-goals in the second quarter as Carlton’s McLean and Marc Murphy and Adelaide’s Walker and Sam Jacobs all scored nine-pointers.

Crows forward Walker also potted two regulation goals in the opening half for the home side, who were largely propelled by onballer Thompson’s 17 disposals by the main break.

The Blues, who trailed by two goals at quarter-time, also had plenty of the ball with McLean prominent and Lucas scoring three goals for the half.

The third quarter proved decisive with Walker adding another super-goal to help Adelaide craft a five-goal advantage at the last change.

But Adelaide stopped to a near walk in the final quarter and didn’t score as Carlton kicked four unanswered goals to creep within three points.

But the Crows, who lost forward pocket Ian Callinan – who suffered a knock on his left knee and was substituted out of the match at quarter-time – held on to win.

Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson said the Crows played “decent footy” until their scoreless last quarter.

“We had a plan tonight to put a bit more speed on the game and at times we looked really sharp,” he said.

“And Carlton play that way too. Both sides looked they were playing a similar game style. It did look open like a basketball game.”

Carlton coach Mick Malthouse was encouraged, despite the narrow loss.

“We missed shots at goal … that should have been put away,” he said.

“We may a couple of weeks away from getting the next part of the execution right. Who knows, it may be months.

“I still think there are a lot more things that are on the up.”