Hardened SANFL performer Jonathon Beech is excited by the potential of Adelaide’s State League team as the Crows edge closer towards their maiden SANFL finals campaign.

Beech knows what it takes to be part of a successful finals side.

The West Adelaide premiership player has played finals in three of his past four seasons at League level and kicked two goals in the Bloods’ drought-breaking Grand Final triumph over Woodville-West Torrens last year.

If Adelaide makes it, Beech believes his team has the right ingredients to make a mark on the major round.

“Hopefully we get that far. It’d be great to play some finals footy with this young group,” Beech said after Adelaide’s 25-point win over Port Adelaide.

“We’ve got a lot of skill in our side, and if we come to play on the day I think we’ll be hard to beat.

“But first things first, we’ve got to earn that right to play finals footy. We’re not quite there just yet.”

While unlikely, it’s still mathematically possible that Adelaide could fall out of finals calculations. The Crows would need to lose their remaining three matches with Glenelg or the Magpies to win three games and usurp Adelaide on percentage.

Beech said Adelaide had to focus on finishing off the season strong before looking towards September.

“We just want to play consistent footy and take things one week at a time, and hopefully that means we keep winning,” he said.

SANFL Stats: Round 18 v Port Adelaide

Adelaide started sluggishly against the Magpies at Alberton on Sunday, giving up the first four goals of the game to trail by 24 points in the opening term.

While disappointed with his team’s start, Beech was pleased with the maturity of the group to remain calm, stick to the game plan and eventually regain the lead midway through the second term.

“We spoke about it during the week about the importance of being consistent for the whole game,” Beech said.

“It just came down to our communication. After that slow start, I thought the boys started to communicate really well with our structures and we reaped the rewards in the end.

“We knew we had to bring our team defence and I thought we brought that today. They’re a well-skilled skilled side but I thought we shut them down well.

“It was good to grind it out all day and get the rewards in the last quarter.”

Beech has been one of Adelaide’s good news stories in the SANFL this season. The 25-year-old rookie overcame a pre-season hamstring injury to be one of Adelaide’s best players in the opening rounds of the year, booting nine goals through the first four matches.

A quad complaint haltered his progress somewhat mid-season, but Beech was back to his best with a season-high 27 possessions and 12 marks on a wing at Alberton on Sunday to help Adelaide claim its third straight SANFL Showdown victory.

“My body’s feeling as good as it has all year,” Beech said.

“Obviously I had a bit of a quad issue and a bit of a hamstring early in the year, but I’m feeling good now.

“I really enjoy the lifestyle committing 100 per cent to footy. I had a bit of a downer last week so it was good to play a bit better today.

“I played a different role up the ground on the wing, which I really enjoy.

“Hopefully I can keep the body right for the rest of the season and finish off well.”