The Adelaide Crows put away a depleted Gold Coast SUNS outfit by 41-points at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
After two straight losses derailed their promising start to the season, the Crows found some form and moved to a 4-2 record with the 18.11 (119) to 11.12 (78) victory.
They were rarely troubled, kicking five straight goals in the first quarter to establish a comfortable lead and got good contributions from all over the ground.
But Betts was the highlight. With youngster Jesse Lonergan manning him for much of the night, the clever small forward was at his scintillating best, kicking two goals in the first quarter, one in the second and two more in the third.
He now has 20 goals for the season and is second behind West Coast's Josh Kennedy in the race for the Coleman Medal.
The Crows were strong all over the ground, moving the ball swiftly at times and keeping it locked in their forward 50 to create repeat opportunities.
Patrick Dangerfield (17 disposals) was kept quiet by first-game Sun Andrew Raines, and utility Alex Sexton blanketed damaging play maker Brodie Smith to be one of the SUNS best contributors.
After a tumultuous week in which Harley Bennell, Trent McKenzie, Brandon Matera and Danny Stanley were sanctioned for drinking alcohol six days prior to a game, the SUNS battled hard. They just weren't good enough.
Trailing by five goals at half-time, Gold Coast arguably had the better of the third quarter, but its shoddy finishing summed up the night.
Fittingly, the SUNS won the final quarter – a reward for hard work.
Dion Prestia was his usual prolific self with 28 disposals and seven clearances, while Adam Saad and Touk Miller continued their impressive first years.
Gold Coast was also missing Steven May (suspension), Gary Ablett (shoulder), David Swallow (knee), Jaeger O'Meara (knee), Jack Martin (ankle) and Nick Malceski (knee) and the lack of class was the difference.
GOLD COAST 3.3 4.4 6.9 11.12 (78)
ADELAIDE 5.2 9.4 14.7 18.11 (119)
GOALS
GC SUNS: Dixon 3, Hall, Lemmens, Nicholls, Lynch, Sexton, Miller, Harbrow, Shaw
Adelaide: Betts 5, Walker 4, Lynch 2, Dangerfield 2, Grigg, Cameron, Thompson, Sloane, Jacobs
BEST
GC SUNS: Prestia, Miller, Dixon, Saad, Raines, Sexton
Adelaide: Betts, Jacobs, Laird, Wright, Walker, Jaensch
INJURIES
GC SUNS: Nil
Adelaide: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
GC SUNS: Clay Cameron replaced Zac Smith in the third quarter
Adelaide: Matt Crouch replaced Rory Sloane in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: O'Gorman, Armstrong, Pannell
Official crowd: 12,464 at Metricon Stadium
