Midfielder Scott Thompson says there is 'a lot of improvement' still left in Adelaide, a preliminary final loser last September after finishing on top of the AFL ladder at the end of the home-and-away season.

"I wouldn't say it was a wasted opportunity," Thompson said of the Crows' preliminary final loss to the West Coast Eagles.

"You compare last year with the year before and we've made big inroads to where we want to get to. All the boys have come back in good shape. But there's a lot of improvement and I think it's going to come not from the senior group but the backbone group and the crushers (the newer, younger players) and even the new guys who've come into the system."

Thompson, 23 this March, said he was 'happy' with his first season with the Crows, had had a year to 'find his feet' and was 'definitely excited about this year'.

He played 24 of Adelaide's 25 matches last year, missing only the first of them after recovering from a foot injury he copped with Melbourne the previous season, and he finished a creditable ninth in the club-champion award.

He was among the leading Crows for most tackles and inside-50 entries, and was their fourth-highest goalkicker with 27.

"My body is feeling good," he said. "It was a good couple of weeks off over Christmas just to freshen up and we're back into it now to raise the bar for the next couple of months before the season starts.

"If I compare myself with where I was this time last year, I'm definitely ahead of that at the moment. So if I can keep my body up and going now, I look forward to a consistent season.

"I was probably carrying a kilo more than I wanted to last year, so I've come back fitter and I'm feeling a lot better when I'm running."

Tanned, muscular and sporting a new-look, closely cropped hairstyle, Thompson said pre-season training had been 'pretty similar' to that of last season.

"We've just upped the bar a bit, made training a little bit more intense, made some of the drills a bit more messy to make us think a little bit more and put a little bit more pressure on the players," he said.

"Getting the balls out straight away and doing that full-ground sort of training gets the players used to game-style sort of stuff. You can kick the balls back and forward, but getting that game practice in definitely helps you out on the field.

"We've got players practising in all sorts of positions at the moment. We want everyone flexible.

"I played a lot through the midfield last season but probably more so up forward. I'd like to spend a little bit more time in the middle this year. I think I play my best footy there so I look forward to it."

Ben Hudson (knee reconstruction) and Scott Stevens (shoulder surgery) are the only two Crows not in full training, while Nathan Bassett (shoulder surgery) and Luke Jericho (groin) have been on modified programs.