"As I've said in the past, if we're going to be a good team, we need to be able to handle expectation and everything that goes with success," coach Craig said after the Crows' 88-point thrashing of Essendon at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.
"That's part of being a powerful team and a powerful football club. How we deal with it will unfold. What I do know is that we welcome it.
"We're aiming to be the best in the competition and not only be the best but be able to handle that pressure, with some form of humility, so you keep winning.
"So that will be a challenge for us, and if we continue to have some success, that pressure will build. And if we don't, there'll be some pressure in terms of criticism which we have to handle as well and still perform.
"We welcome it either way. Obviously it's much nicer to have if you're winning. You can't be the best in the competition, which is what we're aiming for, and not have that pressure. It doesn't happen in life so we have to handle it."
Adelaide's 24.7 (to 9.9) against Essendon belied its standing as the second-most inaccurate team in the competition (after Sydney) before round 11 - and 16 of those goals were scored from set shots.
Craig said 'the structure and also our movement in' had contributed to the increased accuracy.
"We got some quick ball into the forward line and that always helps," he said. "But certainly the accuracy was very pleasing. We've been very guilty of being a wasteful team. I'm not suggesting for a minute we've fixed it overnight but it's always nice to have one game where you walk away not so wasteful.
"You can get a bit carried away with the scoreboard. You've got to look behind the result and what causes it. We've had games this year where we've had lots of contributors and have lost the game.
"The conditions were much better than they normally are for a night game at AAMI Stadium. It was still a bit dewy but nothing like we've seen in the past.
"I'm sure our supporters understand, but people watching the TV or the critics … it (the ball) can be like a cake of soap out there. To expect really crisp skills all the time in those conditions is pretty tough on players."
Craig said Scott Welsh's withdrawal with the flu had given the Crows the opportunity to give Luke Jericho a full game, and he responded with four goals - one in each quarter.
"I thought the way he acquitted himself was very, very good," he said. "Once again we had a good, even spread of goalkickers, so that's always important."
Craig said four-goal Ken McGregor's recent switch to centre half-forward had been possible because Nathan Bock had shown he was able to hold down centre half-back.
"I'm not saying we'd never use Ken down back again, because we all know how well he can play," he said.
"The good thing here is that Ken's played good football but Nathan's been able to settle into a key position where he played his best SANFL footy. Whether we play Ken back again or how often will really depend on injuries and form."
On the Crows' slick run and movement out of defence, particularly from kick-outs, Craig said: "Paul Hamilton (an assistant coach) has done a lot of work with the guys on our kick-outs, so a lot of credit goes to Paul for that and also the guys playing in the backline and the midfielders.
"We've certainly spent some time on it because sides now are having fake zones or going man-on-man on you, so we need to make sure we're ready."
And he said Adelaide would not be reluctant to change its team, despite choosing an unchanged line-up for three successive weeks (and not taking late withdrawals, such as that of Welsh, into account).
"If we believe we can make the team better by positional changes and personnel changes, we would do that as a selection committee," he said.
"I'm not an advocate of 'if it ain't broke, don't tamper with it' because nothing happens in this world if you don't try to get better and better.
"In terms of the youth, Fergus Watts is very close to playing AFL football. It was an outstanding opportunity tonight for Nathan Van Berlo. We have a Chris Knights, who's playing good football (with Woodville-West Torrens) in the SANFL, we have Ivan Maric, who we recruited this year, playing league football for Port Adelaide Magpies.
"We need to continue to develop our list because it's so important for us, and that will happen."
