Is Mark Ricciuto about to emulate arguably the AFL's greatest ever player Leigh Matthews by becoming a champion forward in the later stages of an already-decorated AFL career?

Or is it only a matter of time before 'Roo' returns to his usual midfield role and talk of him being a genuine Coleman Medal contender in 2006 becomes only a distant memory.

It is a question that probably only Adelaide coach Neil Craig can answer but there is no doubt Craig's use of Ricciuto this season and the way the Crows' skipper has adapted to his new-role in attack has been one of the main talking points of the season so far.

At 30 years of age and with more than a decade of hard running in the Crows' midfield behind him, Ricciuto was going to spend more time up forward this year anyway as Adelaide try to preserve his career for as long as possible in much the same way at Collingwood is doing with its skipper Nathan Buckley.

But when Ricciuto - who shared the 2003 Brownlow Medal with Buckley and Sydney's Adam Goodes - underwent minor groin surgery in January and then broke down with a hamstring injury at training in mid-February, it meant he missed all of the NAB Cup making it impossible for him fitness wise to step straight back into the gruelling midfield role.

So Craig had no choice but to play him up forward and the move had paid stunning dividends.

Ricciuto kicked six goals in a match-winning display against Collingwood in round one - an even more remarkable performance considering it was achieved without the benefit of a single pre-season hit-out - and he backed this up with five goals in the Crows' two-point loss to West Coast on Sunday.

With 11 goals in the first two rounds, Ricciuto is already equal second on the AFL goalkicking table - just one goal behind Essendon's three-time Coleman winner Matthew Lloyd - and on pace at this early stage to kick 100 goals for the season.

Certainly Victoria's TAB Sportsbet is taking no chances in regards to Ricciuto's chances of becoming a superstar forward with the Crows' skipper now equal third favourite at $5 - with Hawthorn's Mark Williams - to win this year's Coleman Medal behind Lloyd and Carlton's Brendan Fevola.

This was a far cry from late January when he wasn't even among the 45 players listed when Coleman Medal betting began and when one punter rang asking what price he was to win the award in early February, TAB Sportsbet offered the juicy odds of $151.

The punter immediately placed $20 on Ricciuto and now stands to win $3000 if the Crows' skipper adds a Coleman Medal to his Brownlow Medal - a double only achieved by Tony Lockett, Malcolm Blight, Bernie Quinlan and Kelvin Templeton.

But it is the comparisons to the man known as 'Lethal' that are becoming apparent after Ricciuto's devastating start to the season.

The Hawthorn champion and now Brisbane coach was a superstar rover, who formed a dynamic ruck combination with Don Scott and Michael Tuck in the Hawks' 1976 and 1978 premiership wins, having already finished as the league's leading goal-kicker in 1975.

By the end of his career Matthews was a permanent forward and was so good in that role he kicked six goals in the Hawks' 1983 premiership win - which he also captained - and ended his career with 915 goals - the seventh most in league history.

Ricciuto began this season with a handy 236 goals from his 286 games but only in one season - in 2002 when he kicked 35 goals - has he ever kicked more than 30 goals in a season having spent nearly all of his career on the ball - where he not only won the Brownlow in 2003 but was a member of the Crows' 1998 premiership side.

But Ricciuto has always been regarded at Adelaide as the best kick for goal in the club from a set shot and it is his ability to even convert from outside 50 metres which makes him such a dangerous forward.

With Scott Welsh and Trent Hentschel sidelined through injury, Ricciuto's time as a forward is likely to go on for a while yet and if he continues his present strikerate, Craig may have no choice but to keep him there.

And should Ricciuto end his career as a prolific goal-kicker - particularly if his goals lead Adelaide to another premiership along the way - he will clearly deserve to be remembered as not only the Crows' greatest ever player but in the same league as even AFL immortals such as Matthews.