IN AN aim to keep its players focused on starting well against St Kilda on Sunday, Adelaide will keep its players in the dark as to the progress of West Coast's encounter with Gold Coast.
The Crows will only be a chance to play finals football if Collingwood is beaten by Hawthorn on Friday night and Richmond by the Sydney Swans on Saturday.
They then have to beat the Saints by enough to give them a superior percentage to the winner of the clash between West Coast and Gold Coast, which will unfold as the Crows warm up.
Adelaide has won just nine first quarters this season and for that reason its players won't be updated until a finals berth is within reach.
And if a spot in the finals is a possibility, Crows coach Brenton Sanderson insisted all-out attack wasn't the way to increase their percentage.
The club is ranked seventh in the League for 'points against' this season and Sanderson said his players would have to combine attacking urgency with 'fortress-like' defence.
"We've got to ensure that our group is totally focused on starting well … if it comes down to scores and percentage and those sorts of things, obviously we'll have to let the players know the situation," Sanderson said.
"But if we go into this match distracted by 'we have to win by 85 points or 92 points or whatever' – that's not the way to attack a game of footy.
"Our starts haven't been great this year, we've only won nine first quarters [but] of those nine first quarters we've won we've gone on to win seven times."
As well as Saints champion Lenny Hayes' final AFL game, Sunday's clash looms as Crows acting co-captain Rory Sloane's 100th.
Sloane was a St Kilda supporter growing up and Hayes was his favourite player.
Hayes requires eight tackles to break former Sydney Swan Jude Bolton's all-time career record of 1490.
Just like his childhood hero, Sloane is also a fierce tackler and is fourth in the competition for tackles this season, averaging seven a game.
Sanderson said the 24-year-old's ferociousness at the ball carrier was one of his favourite aspects of his game.
"There's a bit of romance in that – Lenny Hayes' last game, Rory Sloane's 100th, I think Sloaney will jog over and shake his hand before the game because he does love him," he said.
"Sloaney's had an unbelievable season again, I like what he's done this year, he's taken his defence to another level.
"He's right up there as the top tackler this year in the AFL, it's an area we need to get better at as a club and he's one that's certainly leading the way."
