For one quarter on Sunday evening, Adelaide looked, dare it be said, that little bit mortal.

Beaten 52-38 in contested possessions by Richmond and behind by nine points on the scoreboard at quarter-time, the recipe for bringing the Crows undone had been writ large for all to see.

Thirty minutes later, normal transmission had been resumed. The Crows won contested ball in the second term by 54-35, Richmond's movement had been stifled and the Crows were on their way, leading by 27 points at half-time en route to a 75-point win, arguably the most emphatic win by any team in the AFL so far this season.

Match report: Crows v Tigers

The lid hovering over Punt Road has not just been put back in its place, but bolted firmly shut, while over in Adelaide they'll be feeling positively giddy about things, with the Crows 6-0 and the only unbeaten team in the competition.

That's Adelaide the city, of course. Adelaide the footy club will be far more circumspect, in the manner of their no-frills coach Don Pyke. But with 21 marks inside 50, 21 goals for the night (and only one to Eddie Betts) he would nevertheless be well pleased with another great night at the footy.

At $3.50 the Crows are now the premiership favourites, and it will take a very good team to beat them. After quarter-time on Sunday they pretty much toyed with the Tigers, who themselves were unbeaten and in good touch.

History is what the Crows need to bear in mind from here. They were the second-best team for most of 2016 before that Round 23 loss to West Coast at home that totally derailed their season.

We also remember the powerful Neil Craig-coached teams of 2005 and 2006, which were dubbed the 'Crow-bots'. They were equally powerful as the Adelaide of today, although they played with a bit less flair. There were long stretches of both seasons when the Crows seemed unbeatable, yet in both 2005 and 2006 they lost home finals, which brought their premiership campaigns to a grinding halt.

We're a long way from there. It is only the start of May. But the Crows are building something special and given their ability to score heavily and win in multiple ways, there is reason for hope that this season might end differently – and better – than other seasons that have begun with such promise.