1) Don’t take your eyes off Crocker

Former Collingwood forward Ben Crocker booted three goals in just his second appearance in a Crows guernsey.

The 22-year-old came alive in the second half, earning a holding the ball free kick to convert his first goal at the five-minute mark of the third term.

In the final stanza, Adelaide’s No.20 kicked it up another gear, becoming the beneficiary of a great passage of play through the centre involving Myles Poholke, Will Hamill and Jake Kelly.

Poholke turned provider again ahead of Crocker slotting home his third of the day to bring the Crows back to within six points with five minutes to play.

“It was great for me personally to get up here and see the young boys involved,” Crocker said.

“I think last week I may have struggled a bit, learning how the boys play, but during training I feel like this game plan is suited to the player I am.

“When I was at Collingwood, I played deep forward… I think it’s one of my strengths, one-on-one.”

2) Mental toughness

Adelaide was torn to shreds by a rampant Port Adelaide in the second quarter, with the Power outscoring the Crows 6.4 to 1.2.

Trailing by 34 points heading into the major break, Port Adelaide had all the momentum thanks to late goals from Trent Burgoyne and Dylan Williams.

But a half-time speech by coach Heath Younie clearly did the trick and Adelaide bounced back in the third quarter with five goals to two.

“I thought Port were terrific in the first half and our guys fought back really strongly after half time,” Younie said.

“We adjusted a couple of things and to their credit (the players) put up a really strong effort.”

Crocker bagged his first of the match in the third term and was joined by four other Crows in booting a major - James Matthews, Elliott Himmelberg, Billy Frampton and Darcy Fogarty.

Young defender Hamill proved instrumental in rebounding out of the back 50 and even turned goal provider by hitting Fogarty with a bullet pass late in the quarter.

3) 2019 draftees show glimpses of why they were selected

Adelaide’s 2019 draftees are doing a lot of things right early in their football careers.

Harry Schoenberg was a spark in the midfield, providing a few highlights throughout the game.

The South Australian was instrumental in setting up Mathews for a goal thanks to a pack-busting run through the centre corridor.

“Harry I thought was a strong contributor today,” Younie said.

“He needs to bring that consistency to continually put his name up for AFL footy.

“We drafted him for a reason and what he showed in the second half in particular was that.”

19-year-old Ronin O’Connor also impressed, laying some big tackles on AFL-hardened bodies and connecting in link-up play across the ground.

Tackling seemed to be a theme for the young players with lightly-built Crow Lachlan Gollant booting the opening goal of the match on the back of a tackle that earned holding-the-ball.

4) The future looks bright for Adelaide

Looking past the first-year players, Adelaide had a wealth of budding talent running around on Thebarton Oval.

Chayce Jones continues to impress, Ned McHenry was energetic in the first half and Hamill enjoyed running out of the defensive 50.

“It was fantastic to see some of the young guys we picked in the last two years… that’s the future of our footy club,” Younie said.

“Hamill, Butts, Chayce Jones, McHenry early and ahead of the ball Darcy Fogarty.

“For those guys to be able to build on their career, one shows they’re up to it and secondly that the work being done over pre-season puts them in great stead for the year.”

5) There’s still work to do before Round One

Adelaide will play its opening game of the season in just three weeks, with one final Marsh Community Series match to take place next Friday afternoon against Gold Coast.

Heading into the clash with the Suns at Noarlunga, Matthew Nicks is set to have some selection headaches for his final pre-season game of 2020.

Adelaide will face Gold Coast at Flinders University Stadium on Friday at 4.20pm ACDT.