Jason Porplyzia's shoulder popped out again but the Adelaide forward still managed to kick five goals and lead the Crows to an upset win over Sydney.

Porplyzia, whose shoulder has dislocated several times this year including against Collingwood two weeks ago, was facing the prospect of season-ending surgery but chose to soldier on and coach Neil Craig was full of praise for the 23-year-old forward.

Adelaide snapped a five-game losing streak and moved into sixth position on the ladder midway through round 17 of the AFL with their 11.11 (77) to 6.17 (53) victory against the fourth-placed Swans at the SCG.

"It says something for him that he has the courage to do that and also his feeling for the playing group," Craig said.

"The easy option for Jason would have been to opt out and have an operation.

"His decision was not to do that.

"It came out tonight. We put it back in and he continued to play and was a fantastic contributor."

Adelaide remain Sydney's bogey side, with the Crows winning nine of the past 10 clashes between the two sides. Craig paid tribute to his side's persistence after five consecutive losses going into Saturday night's game.

"We could persist or we could let it consume us. If you hang in for long enough things will turn for you," Craig said.

"Tonight we saw a level that we need to play at. The challenge for our group now is to continue to play at that level."

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