ADELAIDE ruckman Sam Jacobs is "marginally" better placed to take on West Coast counterpart Nic Naitanui on Sunday than he was ahead of the two sides' emotional round 15 clash.

Taking the field that evening for the first time since the death of coach Phil Walsh, the Crows were emotionally drained as the Eagles ran away to a 56-point win at Domain Stadium.

Naitanui was sublime in round 15, racking up 19 disposals, 39 hit-outs and four tackles; Jacobs had 33 hit-outs but was far less effective around the ground, collecting just six possessions.

With Adelaide's players in a far better head space this week and full of confidence after two big wins, Crows ruck coach Matthew Clarke said Jacobs had put more time into Naitanui's weaknesses. 

However, Clarke said the Eagles' big man didn't have many deficiencies to exploit.

"[Naitanui's] in sensational form and last time around he gave us a fair bit of grief. We learned a little bit out of that game but obviously he's just a phenomenal athlete," Clarke said on Thursday morning.

"At times it's just about nullifying that influence. 

"Sammy actually got his hands on the ball a reasonable amount last time but it was the ones that he missed that were just too clean.

"Certainly the preparation wasn't standard preparation [last time]. It was unique circumstances and we probably didn't spend as long as we ordinarily would in terms of opposition analysis because of everything that had gone on."

A win for Adelaide would cement the club a finals berth – its first since 2012.

If Geelong beats Collingwood on Friday night and the Crows lose, Adelaide will have to beat the Cats in Geelong next week to make the eight. 

But Clarke backed the side to secure a place in the finals on Sunday, believing now was as good a time as ever to prove itself a premiership contender.

"Across the season we've played some really strong footy, the last two weeks have been really impressive but obviously the opposition have had leaner years," he said. 

"[The Eagles are] top two in almost every category and they're sitting second – if we want to be a serious contender in the finals series, if we're good enough to make it, then we have to beat these sorts of teams. 

"Why not this week?"

Small defender Luke Brown trained fully on Thursday morning and appears certain to take his place in the starting 22 after an injury scare last weekend.

Brown hurt his foot against the Brisbane Lions but played out the game.

Jake Lever is also expected to return to the line-up after a rest against the Lions.

Meanwhile, the Crows don't expect John Worsfold to decide whether he wants to return to AFL coaching until the end of the season.

The former West Coast premiership coach has been touted as a potential candidate for the vacant Adelaide and Essendon coaching jobs.

But Clarke says he didn't expect Worsfold, who has been acting as the Crows' coaching director since the death of Phil Walsh, to make any decision until season's end.

"I think it will be a question for the end of the season ... there is plenty of time to worry about that at the end of the year," he said.