Defender Ben Rutten has been ruled out of Adelaide’s clash with the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Rutten was a late withdrawal from the Crows team to play Greater Western Sydney last weekend because of knee soreness.

The veteran full-back was rated as a ‘test’ going into the game against the Bulldogs, but coach Brenton Sanderson revealed on Thursday that Rutten wouldn’t make the trip to Melbourne.

“Truck (Rutten) trained today, but he won’t play this week,” Sanderson said.

“He’s just not back to freely moving. He’s really raring to go, but we want to make sure his agility is 100 per cent before we bring him back.”

The Crows will be looking for their third win of the season against the Bulldogs, who also have a record of two wins and three losses.

The Dogs claimed victory in the last meeting between the two teams at Etihad Stadium in Round 21 last season. The match was a high-scoring affair (21 goals to 17) and Sanderson said he didn’t want a repeat of the 2013 shootout.

“The game last year didn’t suit us. You’ve still got the vision of me being really upset at quarter time of that match,” Sanderson said.

“The shootout style of footy doesn’t suit us. I’d prefer an uglier visual, but for us at the right times to put speed on the game. We don’t want the opposition to dictate the speed this week.”

The Crows have scored freely over the past two weeks and are ranked fourth in the AFL for goals. However, Adelaide has also allowed the opposition to score easily at times, ranked fourth in scores against.

“I still think we can kick a winning score. It’s whether we can actually defend their run and carry, their short-kick game and their clearance and contested ball numbers,” Sanderson said.

“When Dogs beat us last year … guys like Matthew Boyd and Tom Liberatore could control the contest inside. Then guys like Ryan Griffen, Adam Cooney, Bob Murphy and, this year Shaun Higgins too, can hurt you outside the contest as well.

“When they can control their game plan – win it inside, win clearance, win contested ball and flick it outside to those guys with speed and run that’s when they can really hurt you.”