Injuries to a key midfield duo will fast-track Adelaide's plans to emulate reigning AFL premiers, the Western Bulldogs.
The Crows will be missing prime midfield movers Rory Sloane (fractured eye socket) and Brad Crouch (hamstring) when they open their pre-season campaign against Richmond in Melbourne on Friday night.
But Adelaide defender Brodie Smith says the injuries will simply force the Crows to accelerate their plans to take a leaf from the Bulldogs' playbook - midfield versatility.
"If you have the same guys rolling through there (the midfield) you can become a bit predictable," Smith told reporters on Monday.
"The Bulldogs last year did it really well and always had a number of guys rolling through there and always seemed to be fresh during games and hard to run down.
"That is the direction we will try and take."
Smith said backman Rory Laird, forward Charlie Cameron and the likes of ex-GWS defender Curtly Hampton and Cam Ellis-Yolmen were pressing for onball berths with the Crows in the looming season.
"Hampton has moved up to midfield and trained really well," Smith said.
"Rory Laird has done a little bit of midfield stuff as well.
"It's working well in pre-season but I guess you never know until you put it out on the park."
The Crows hope vice-captain Sloane will be fit for round one of the premiership season after being injured last Friday in a training mishap.
"It's unfortunate for an incident like that to happen close to the start of the season but we would rather it happen now than during the year," Smith said.
"He has got a few weeks to get himself right and hopefully will be there in round one."
Crouch, to miss the entire pre-season competition because of another hamstring strain, will be hard-pressed to front for round one.
And key defender Jake Lever will miss at least the next three weeks because of a hamstring injury.
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