West Adelaide has beaten South Adelaide by 117 points

WEST Adelaide refound the slick ball movement which has been missing from its game in a 117-point win against South Adelaide.

WEST Adelaide refound the slick ball movement which has been missing from its game since the second half of the Foxtel Cup grand final in a 117-point win against South Adelaide.

Despite playing on a muddy Richmond Oval deck, the Bloods strung together countless chains of clean possession to post their highest score of the season.

The victory moved West back in to third position and gives it a healthy percentage buffer over top three rivals the Eagles and North with two games to play.

"We think we've got a really good team (but) we've got to finish top three," Bloods coach Andrew Collins said.

"If we do that, we're giving ourselves the best opportunity to impact in the finals.

"I was really happy with their ball movement and their physicality. And that had been missing."

West kicked six goals to none in the opening term to end the battle as a contest.

Chris Schmidt and Travis Tuck were allowed to do as they pleased through the middle of the ground and the Panthers had no answer for Aaron Fielke in attack.

Scott Taylor and Josh Thewlis both had a crack at Fielke but couldn't win a one on one as he finished the first half with 2.2 and two assists to get Jon Beech's afternoon rolling.

The only negative for West came in the second term when Joel Tippett crashed in to the goalpost while attempting to save a goal.

He was helped from the ground and taken for scans on his ribs. "(They could be) bruised, cracked, we're hoping they're not broken," Collins said. "It was a big hit."

Tippett's departure just before half-time should have been a relief for direct opponent Michael Wundke but Wundke also failed to emerge from the changerooms after the main break after copping a corkie.

West's lead was out to 12 goals when Caleb Daniel - courtesy of a Travis Tuck turnover - finally broke through for South's first major early in the third.

The Panthers managed only two more for the rest of the game - despite going inside the 50m arc on 37 occasions - to record their fourth 100+ point defeat for the season.

"It wasn't about skills today, it was all about effort," South coach Ron Fuller said. "No matter what the situation there's got to be effort."

The Panthers pulled off the upset of the season by defeating West by 10 points at Noarlunga in round 13 but are going backwards rapidly.

There is no system to the way they move the ball, no spirit in the playing group and a complete lack of ability to defend - both individually and as a team.

South put up such little fight it made a visit by a host of Woodville-West Torrens players to scout the Bloods pretty much a waste of time.

"It's very embarrassing," Fuller said. "I don't like to fail and we just can't accept that. We'll find out who really wants to be a part of it going forward.

"I need to sit down with a few people and talk about what we need to do going forward."