Scott Thompson says Adelaide’s stoppage dominance over Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Monday night was reward for a summer of effort for the Crows midfield brigade.

Led by Thompson, who won a game-high eight clearances, Adelaide claimed the clearances 49-35. Particularly impressive was the Crows’ work at the centre clearances where they comprehensively beat the Blues 19-5, with Thompson on top (five) again.

Ruckman Sam Jacobs was pivotal to the midfield’s impressive performance.

In just 68 per cent game time, the influential Crow amassed 24 hit-outs, guiding the ball down to the likes of Thompson, Rory Sloane (21 possessions, four clearances, seven tackles and 1.0), Richard Douglas (21 possessions, five inside 50ms and four marks), Matthew Wright (29 possessions, five clearances and five tackles) and Jason Porplyzia (21 possessions, three clearances, seven tackles and 1.2) and Patrick Dangerfield (16 possessions, four clearances, one super goal and 1.0).

He also ran hard to provide an option around the ground, taking six marks.

The Crows are at their best when the midfield is firing and Thompson said it was pleasing to see the engine room functioning well on Monday night.

“We’ve worked on a lot of things as a midfield group and one is our clearance work and being dominant to get some good results around the stoppages,” he said after the game.

“It’s not only that, but also getting out of the stoppages whether that’s offensive or defensive transition and trying to work over our opponents. We’ve done a lot of work and it was nice to see some of the guys like Matty Wright and Richie Douglas, who are finding plenty of the ball, get rewarded.

“The centre bounces were really good. We were quite dominant in there as a group tonight. It was great to see ‘Sauce’ back to his best too, getting first hands to the ball. It’s always nice as a midfielder at ground level when the big fella is feeding us the ball and giving us first look.”

Thompson was also delighted with the way Adelaide finished the game.

Trailing by a point at three-quarter time after a scrappy start, the Crows piled on six unanswered goals in the final term to storm to a 38-point win.

“It’s great for the confidence and morale of the group to know that we’ve got that fitness base and can run games out strongly,” he said.

“We’ve had a tough and busy summer on the track, so it’s nice to see some results of that even though it’s only a NAB Challenge game.”

Thompson picked up 24 possessions, laid 10 tackles and generated four inside 50ms to go with eight clearances in his first game of the year.

The All Australian and two-time Crows Club Champion was on a modified program pre-Christmas following surgery to correct a hip injury that plagued his 2013 season. He returned to full training in January and feels well placed for the start of the premiership season.

“I worked my way into the pre-season. In the back half of the pre-season I got a fair bit of work into my legs, which has been beneficial,” he said.

“I’m a bit tired now, but it was good to get the first game out the way and blow a few cobwebs out. I’ll play against GWS in the practice match Friday-week and get a bit more run in the legs.

“I’ve got nearly a fortnight of training before that game too, so I’ll be ready to hit the ground running in Round One.”

However, Thompson did have one comical ‘rusty’ moment on Monday night.

During the last quarter, he lost his footing in Adelaide’s defensive goal square and fumbled the ball, allowing a Carlton player to swoop and kick the simplest of goals. A replay showed his legs moving furiously – too furiously for the rest of his body.

“I didn’t realise I was that quick … I surprised myself with my leg speed and tripped over my own feet,” he said with a laugh.

“I knew Ben Rutten was on to release the ball too but I got a bit carried away and that handball didn’t eventuate. I was able to see the funny side of it and so did the guys around me.”

Another moment that triggered smiles from the Crows players was when Ben Rutten motored all the way from full-back to find himself unmanned in Adelaide’s forward 50m. The All Australian defender took the mark and coolly slotted a rare goal.

“Truck thought he was the rebounding defender tonight. He was running forward and his eyes lit up a couple of times,” Thompson said.

“He did kick one goal but there were a couple of other occasions where he thought he was going to break the 50 and put it through the big sticks. He got a bit excited. It was nice to have him back out there as well.”