Adelaide and Melbourne have met 33 times, with the Crows holding the overall advantage 21-12.
The Crows have found the right balance of attack and defence so far this season. Adelaide is the highest-scoring team in the League after two rounds, with 230 points for. The Crows have conceded only 126 points in their first two matches – second only to the Sydney Swans (104).
Young Melbourne forward Jesse Hogan is ranked equal-first in the AFL for contested marks.
Hogan is one of several new faces in the Demons line-up. Hogan, off-season recruits Heritier Lumumba, Aaron vandenBerg, Ben Newton, Jeff Garlett, Sam Frost and Angus Brayshaw, as well as reliable defender Colin Garland didn’t play when Melbourne last played the Crows.
Taylor Walker, Nathan van Berlo and Ricky Henderson, who were all injured, and suspended midfielder Richard Douglas were among the first-choice Crows missing in Round Seven last season. Kyle Cheney will also play against his former team for the first time as a Crow on Saturday.
The Crows and Demons have met once before at Adelaide Oval in Round Seven last season, when the visiting team emerged victorious by three points. On that day, Chris Dawes did the damage with three goals from 20 possessions and five marks.
Demons defender Tom McDonald shapes as the likely match-up for Taylor Walker. McDonald is second in the League for spoils and rebound 50ms, third for intercept marks and fifth for marks overall.
The Dees are a kicking team, ranked second in the competition for long kicks. They have the second-highest kick-to-handball ratio in the AFL behind only the Crows.
The Crows are No.1 in the AFL for marks (120 average) and uncontested marks (110 average). Adelaide also averages more marks inside 50m (19.5) than any other team.
Melbourne is efficient at scoring once inside attacking 50m – ranked 2nd in scores per inside 50m. The Crows are first in this statistic.
The biggest crowd for a Crows v Demons game in Adelaide was 46,310 at Football Park in Round 20, 1993.
The Demons are fourth in the League in hard-ball gets.
The Crows remain a strong clearance team under new coach Phil Walsh. Adelaide has the best clearance differential (+15.5 a game) and also scores from stoppage differential (+25 points per game). The Club was second in both statistical areas last season.
Patrick Dangerfield polled three Brownlow Medal votes against the Dees in a losing team last year.
Crow Richard Douglas ranks No.1 in the League in one of Walsh’s favourite stats – loose-ball gets – with 15 in the first two games. Dangerfield is equal-second with 14.
Scott Welsh holds the record for most Crows goals in a game against Melbourne. Welsh slotted eight at Football Park in Round 14, 2004.
Adelaide’s highest-ever score against Melbourne was 23.14 (152) at AAMI Stadium in Round 22, 2006. The Club’s lowest score against the Dees was 5.11 (41) in wet conditions at the MCG in Round Three, 2010.
