Adelaide Assistant Coach Scott Burns says the Crows will head into their opening round match confident but are also refusing to take GWS lightly.
The Crows’ 2023 campaign kicks off against the Giants on Sunday after a four-month-long, gruelling pre-season.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Burns said GWS had plenty of talent on its list but the Crows had belief in their ability to halt them.
“(Stephen) Coniglio is up and going, (Josh) Kelly is playing well, you’ve obviously got the All Australian last year in (Sam) Taylor and their half-back line has got plenty of run in (Lachie) Whitfield and Isaac Cumming as well,” Burns said.
“There’s a very talented group we are coming up against (and) we’ve got to make their life difficult, no matter who it is.
“(But) you should go into every game believing you can win.
“There will be things that will challenge us (this year) but there may be opportunities as well and we’ve got a real confidence in the way we play and the way we go about it.”
Adelaide last played the Giants in Round Seven last year and went down by 59 points.
Burns, however, said the result would mean little this weekend.
“I think it’s different, especially when they have a new coach coming in,” Burns said.
“They’ve lost (Tim) Taranto and (Jacob) Hopper, so it’s a little bit of a different mix to what they’re going with.
“The previous times we’ve played them we’ve been reasonably average in those couple of games but at the same time we’ve certainly picked up and improved over the last 18 months to two years.
“It’s a different team with us now, when you look at our inclusions over the last 18 months and there’s certainly been an improvement from younger players.”
Although Burns was not looking too far past Round One, he said a win in the first few games would help set the Crows’ season up.
“You’ve seen in the past when clubs get that good start… It gives confidence going forward for the rest of the season,” Burns said.
“The group has shown us how coachable they are and how much they want to get better and learn.
“They drive a lot of the standards and they spend so much time doing extras/
“I don't care where you’ve finished the year before, if you’ve got your best players playing well and you’ve got that injection of youth and talent… Then you certainly have to have the belief that everyone at their best can challenge anyone.”
Adelaide plays GWS at Giants Stadium on Sunday, March 18, with the first bounce at 12.40pm (ACDT).