Crows in Goodes stead
Ben Rutten says the adaptability of Adelaide's backline will help the Crows contain star Sydney Swan Adam Goodes
ADELAIDE key back Ben Rutten says it will take the best of several Crows to stop Sydney Swans superstar Adam Goodes in Saturday's qualifying final at AAMI Stadium.
Goodes has struggled to reach his mercurial best since he booted five goals in the Swans' loss to the Crows in round six, but dismissed suggestions his recent level had been sub par.
The dual Brownlow medallist said minor round form counted for nothing in the finals and that he felt as though he was "up and about".
While 23-year-old Ricky Henderson tried to hold Goodes for most of that round-six game, Rutten said the responsibility would fall on a number of players this time round.
"We've got a few guys, depending on where he plays I suppose, whether he sits himself at full forward or whether he's up the ground a bit, which I think he did last week," Rutten said.
"I'm sure I'll get a chance to play on him, but he's one of those guys that no one really matches up on him that well.
"It will definitely be a team responsibility to stop him."
Such an approach was fine with Rutten, who claimed Adelaide's defensive versatility would give it a real advantage not only on Saturday, but throughout the finals campaign.
"That's the beauty of us in the backline at the moment, we've got guys that are pretty flexible and we've got a good mix of guys who can play tall or small," he said.
"We're not all that limited in terms of dealing with what they can throw at us, which is really important in finals."
Given the Swans and Crows are the number one and two contested possession teams in the competition, Rutten said there would be no surprise as to the style of game played on Saturday.
The 29-year-old said the winner of the qualifying final would be the team that simply won more one-on-one contests around the ground.
"You pretty much know what to expect when you play a finals game and when you play Sydney, it's going to be hard and contested, guys are going to have to win a lot of contests," he said.
"We're pretty clear on what we're going to get and how we're going to attack it on the weekend … it's going to be a very one-on-one game and they do that very well and so do we."
As he has been all season, defender Daniel Talia will play a vital role in restricting the Swans' forwards on Saturday.
The 20-year-old became Adelaide's first-ever recipient of the NAB AFL Rising Star Award on Wednesday and, as his mentor in defence, Rutten said it was a thrill to have watched him develop.
He predicted bigger things were yet to come though, while assistant coach Mark Bickley also heaped significant praise on the youngster.
"Blokes like Stephen Schwerdt and some of our medical and fitness people talk about him being the best [preparer] that they've ever seen," Bickley said.
"Schwerdty's been here a long time, but they just said the way he prepares and his attention to detail is just outstanding, so I would be really confident that this would have no affect on the way he plays."
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.