IT’S been a dream start for rookie coach Brenton Sanderson.

The pre-season saw Adelaide, the club he’d assumed leadership of after the Neil Craig-era, lift the NAP Cup with aggressive, direct, exciting footy.

But it’s premiership points that will be the ultimate judge of any revival at West Lakes and, on that front, 2012 has started perfectly with the Crows thumping Gold Coast by 69 points at Metricon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Heavy favouritism accompanied Adelaide on their journey north, but the victory - and the means by which it was delivered - nevertheless had Sanderson in a positive frame of mind after the game.

“The world was looking at how we would respond to the NAB Cup success and it probably couldn’t have been better from my point of view,” he said.

“If I was an Adelaide fan. I’d be pretty happy because they’re seeing some attractive footy.

"The boys are playing some really aggressive footy, they’re winning contests.

“We had 73 inside-50s, which is an enormous number. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, if you get that amount of ball to your forwards, you’re half way there."

Especially if those forwards are the calibre of Kurt Tippett and Taylor Walker.

Between them, the Crows’ two towers kicked nine goals, and if not for some edginess at set shots it could have been four or five more.

The coach likes what he sees when he glances up the ground and not just because of the combination his two spearheads are developing.

“I thought the Walker-Tippett chemistry was really good,” he said.

“Ian Callinan was at their feet and kicked two goals five.

"It would have been a great story if it was five goals two … but having said that we got the ball forward [and] we had some smalls at ground level as well.”

But it was the domination of Adelaide’s midfield that set up the victory.

To quarter time, the Crows had won the centre clearances nine to one and built up an all but unassailable 31-point advantage.

Part of that midfield, Rory Sloane - who kicked a goal to go with his 24 possessions - said the work of developing ruckman Sam Jacobs was now a major part of Adelaide’s onball mix.

The ex-Blue was outstanding against the Suns, mastering his opponents in the ruck and being more than serviceable around the ground.

“He had an enormous pre-season,” Sloane said.

“He’s gotten bigger; he’s got a bit of a backside now, a bit of an arse, which is good.

“He’s looking dangerous up forward now which adds another element to his game.”

The Crows host the Western Bulldogs next Saturday night at AAMI Stadium and, despite Sanderson’s satisfaction with his team’s first-round effort, he knows the challenge from here will only grow.

“We’ve got to keep the momentum rolling and keep looking to improve.”

“I know it’s a long season and the game can turn around and bite you.”