LAMENTING his side's squandered 2006 premiership tilt, Adelaide's Scott Thompson says he wants to quickly develop the Crows' young list into one capable of righting that wrong.

Thompson said the 2006 preliminary final loss to West Coast "really sits in the guts as one we probably let get away", after the Crows wasted a 22-point half-time lead and watched the Eagles go on to claim the flag.

"I'd dearly love to win a premiership and we've had our chances I think, in '05, '06 when we were right up around the top of the ladder," Thompson said.

"My aim now is to fast track the development of these guys with the other senior guys and coaches around the football club to get to that ultimate success as soon as possible.

"If I'm playing in a premiership before I retire that'd be fantastic."

Thompson will play his 200th AFL match against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night and, despite finding himself in career-best form, at 29 he's entering the twilight of his career.

Adelaide's reigning club champion has become one of the league's elite midfielders since his debut in 2001, but a flag is the most glaring omission from his list of achievements.

He said the side had a list capable of pushing the best teams in the competition and after a 69-point win over the Gold Coast in round one, it looks to be playing a brand of football that's also up to the challenge.

"We’ve got a list of players now that can take us back up towards the top of the ladder," he said.

"We're probably a lot more direct than we have been in the past…I know that if we are getting the ball in to our big tall forwards in (Kurt) Tippett and (Taylor) Walker we definitely look a lot better."

Thompson was drafted to Melbourne with pick No. 16 at the 2000 NAB AFL Draft, from Port Adelaide in the SANFL. But his career really took off when he was traded back to South Australia at the end of the 2004 season.

Although the move home was welcomed by Thompson, he denied it was always the plan.

"I really enjoyed my time at Melbourne, they're a great club and a great bunch of people to be involved with," he said.

"I was coming out of contract at the end of 2004 and broke my foot half-way through that year, so I had a bit of time to think about things.

"At the end of the day I just wanted a fresh start and if I was going to go anywhere it was going to be to an Adelaide-based club."

It's been a fruitful career for Thompson; his 199 games including countless highlights and match-winning performances.

So many in fact, Thompson was hard pressed to select his most memorable efforts.
 
"It's hard to look back and pick out one; each game throws up different challenges," he said.

"Obviously last year when I had 51 touches against the Gold Coast sticks out.
"And a few years back against Richmond at the MCG, I played through the middle and snuck forward a bit and was able to kick six goals.

"So they are probably the two that stick out in my mind."

Harry Thring covers Adelaide news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: AFL_Harry.

Scott Thompson is a $538,500 midfielder in Toyota AFL Dream Team. Team.Register your team here