THE SPEED with which Adelaide can move the ball has its players confident that at their best they'll prove difficult to hold in 2016.

The Crows stunned the 51,585-strong crowd at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, obliterating Port Adelaide in a contest that has become renowned for its competitiveness and close finishes.

Port was unable to manage Adelaide's spread from contests, which allowed the Crows to consistently find open space and punish their opposition with brave, lightning movement through the middle of the ground and into attack.

Crows speedster David Mackay was an integral part of his side's 58-point Showdown win, collecting 25 disposals and a team-high six inside 50s.

Tired and sore but ecstatic with his side's performance, he told AFL.com.au that the Crows would always look to play at breakneck speed in order to best use their potent attack.

"The way we moved the ball was the real positive of the day. Probably from a defensive point of view we gave up a bit too much, but if we move the ball like that it's going to be difficult for teams to stop us," Mackay said.

"It's no secret we're trying to move the ball quickly, we obviously look to get a lot of numbers through our midfield which can help us with the spread.

"It does take the confidence of the bloke to pull the trigger and go [through the corridor], and we understand there are going to be mistakes – but you've just got to keep going for it.

"We know that if keep doing that, more times than not we'll be able to move the ball well and get it quickly into our forwards who are really dangerous."

Mackay was brilliant on Saturday, spending time on the inside of the contest as well as using his leg speed to spread and provide his teammates with an option on the outside.

While his career has been largely built on his outside ability, his courage at the contest has him well suited to winning his own possession.

Last season he drew praise from then-coach Phil Walsh for taking the bravest of marks while running back into a pack against Melbourne in round three, and in similar fashion on Saturday he threw his body in front of a leading Justin Westhoff to spoil the ball across the boundary line.

He won 10 contested possessions against the Power, outdone only by Scott Thompson, Matt and Brad Crouch and Eddie Betts.

"I've done a lot of work over the summer in that sort of role and really loved the opportunity to get inside a bit more at centre bounces and through the midfield," he said.

"It's just been great that the coaches have given me that opportunity.

"It allows you to hunt the ball a bit more … when you expose yourself to different roles it gives you those different opportunities.

"We're trying to develop a midfield that's really flexible so we've got a lot of numbers going through there. It's a tough game, the rotations allow the game to open up late in quarters so you've got to be able to spit numbers through there.

"I love any opportunity to be around the ball."