ADELAIDE coach Brenton Sanderson has praised the hard-edged physical approach of his players after the Crows brushed aside Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Adelaide trailed by three points at quarter-time, but thanks to its superior presence around the stoppages, managed to kick 15 of the remaining 18 goals scored to smash the Blues by 69 points.

"We try and play that way every week, it doesn't matter who our opponent is, we try to really bring the heat," Sanderson said.

"We would have been happy with a scrappy one-point win to be honest, but the way we won, the players should be very happy and very proud.

"The pressure was certainly one of the highlights for us. As coaches we were sitting in the box and a couple of times we just had to sit back and [say] 'have a look how hard they're crashing in at the contest'.

"That wasn't just one or two players - that was the whole 22. Everyone who put on a Crows jumper today was ferocious in every aspect. They were desperate and they just didn't let up, which is something I'm really impressed with.

"Our four quarters have been fantastic all season, but just to finish the job on the road is something I'm really proud of."

The Crows improved their record to 7-1, which is their best start to a season since they entered the competition, and also snapped a 15-game losing streak in Victoria.

After a disappointing 2011 that led to the sacking of Neil Craig, the unexpected start to this campaign will inevitably see Sanderson's team spoken of as a flag contender in an open race, but the coach is keen for his players to "live in the moment".

He paid tribute to their willingness to take on board his coaching philosophies and new game plan, but added his coaching was not the main factor in Adelaide's rise up the ladder.

"You don't have to go to the well too much to motivate them if that makes sense," he said.

"You don't have to smash meeting room doors or anything to try and motivate this group. There's a lot of great energy that's coming from within and the players are the ones who should take credit for that."

David Mackay was subbed out of the game with a corked back, but Sanderson said he should be available to play when the Crows host Collingwood on Saturday night.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs.