The resurgent Crows are perfectly placed to make a strong push in the second half of the season, but still have more to give in the run home to the finals, co-captain Rory Sloane says.
The Crows have won seven of their past nine games – including wins against top-eight sides Greater Western Sydney and Richmond in the space of five days – to sit fourth on the ladder with an 8-5 record following their round 14 bye.
Now back from their break, the Crows will get a true test of their premiership aspirations when they face high-flying Geelong at GMHBA Stadium in a Friday night blockbuster on June 28.
It's been 16 long years since the Crows have returned from a trip to the Cattery with the premiership points.
"It's a nice position to be in," Sloane told AFL.com.au.
"We knew this period of games was going to be really tough and now we've got to come out of the bye and face Geelong in Geelong, which is one of the toughest challenges going around.
"Look, it's a good position to be in, but we're definitely not satisfied.
"There's still a lot in our game we want to keep improving on."
The Crows have had a great run with injuries, but their depth will be tested with key forward Josh Jenkins set to be sidelined for at least a month after hyperextending his knee in Adelaide’s victory over Richmond in Round 13.
Daniel Talia (quad), Jake Kelly (calf) and Lachlan Murphy (teeth) also failed to finish the game, but the Club expects the trio to be available to face the Cats.
"Maybe (we'll have a few out), we'll see how the guys pull up over the break," Sloane said.
"Hopefully they pull up fine."
Dual Crows best and fairest Sloane is getting back to his best after missing the first half of last season with a Lisfranc ligament strain.
He had 28 disposals, nine clearances, six inside 50s and kicked two goals in the 33-point victory over the Tigers.
Brad Crouch – who missed all of last season with a groin issue – had a career-high 43 touches to bump his season average up to 31.8 per game, just behind younger brother Matt (31.9).
Sloane said the Crows were getting their midfield mix right with a combination of inside and outside players rolling through their on-ball division.
"It's great to have Brad back and in great form," Sloane said.
"Brad, Matt, Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Hugh Greenwood, Wayne Milera, Richard Douglas – we've had a few guys rotate through there and we've got plenty of guys hungry and waiting in the SANFL.
"We've got a pretty deep midfield, so it's hard to crack into at the moment."
