What? Oh, this is football. Well at least don’t tell Neil Craig it was me that told you.

Here goes. Geelong and Hawthorn aren’t over the line yet – Adelaide is a genuine premiership contender.

Of course the canny Craig played down his side’s victory over Melbourne on the weekend, saying the size of the win covered a multitude of sins.

The Adelaide coach is simply following the current football mantra of playing down pretty much everything. Geelong did it last year and won the flag. Whatever the premiership team does, so the others follow.

Even the weekly club footy stories are drying up. The bottom clubs have nothing positive to sell, while the top clubs are desperate to keep the proverbial lid firmly on. Hawthorn took this theory to new levels last week by announcing the re-appointment of coach Alastair Clarkson via e-mail. Expect more of this to come.

There is plenty to camouflage in Adelaide.

Everyone knows about their well-drilled defensive unit, but we are now discovering the value of the courageous changes Craig was prepared to make in the off-season to gain a more attacking edge – which has long been their achilles heel.

Young Jonathon Griffin has gleefully accepted the challenge of the first ruck, which has enabled the Crows to cover the loss of Ben Hudson and the injured Rhett Biglands. With an eye to the future Nathan van Berlo, Bernie Vince and David MacKay have stepped up to key midfield roles, allowing a more potent forward-line to be created.

Champion Data stats show these changes haven’t adversely affected supply, with the inside 50 count remaining the same as previous years.

From those entries the new-look forward-line is producing an average of 108 points per week, which is almost four goals better than last year. In other words Adelaide has gone from the second-lowest scoring team to the fourth-highest.

The new world order has the tall, athletic rising star Kurt Tippett as the long target. He is a fine mark and is at least giving the Crows a vigorous contest. Jason Porplyzia is another to shine. He knows his way around the ground, and more importantly around the goal, where he has kicked 13.5.

The big move is captain Simon Goodwin to lead-up forward. Many thought it was a luxury the Crows couldn’t afford, but his attributes are a perfect fit for the position.

The skipper is a nice mark, a beautiful long kick and has smarts to know when to push up into the midfield to help out.  And it means he can stay on the field all day, which has seen him produce 20 disposals and three goals per game.

And then there is Brett Burton. The ‘Birdman’ is still living up to his name with the spectacular, but in his tenth season he’s finally got the fitness to be consistent – and devastating. Burton is fifth on the AFL goal-kicking table with 26 goals, but has also assisted in more scores (19) than anyone else in the competition. A Brownlow Medal wouldn’t be out of the question if he can keep it up.

There is a lot of excitement and anticipation about the round 17 Geelong-Hawthorn blockbuster, but for me the Crows matches against the Hawks next month, and in particular their round fourteen Friday night clash with the Cats, could be almost as significant.

Many at Kardinia Park maintain the grinding mid-season one-goal win over the Crows last year was the victory that convinced the Cats of their true premiership bonafides. Twelve months on Geelong is now a powerhouse, but the Crows also have a much better balance.

After making the NAB Cup Grand Final, Adelaide has lost just two matches – one to Brad Johnson’s Bulldogs in a thriller, and the other to Hawthorn in Launceston. The Crows were disappointing that day, but they haven’t been the only side to get stuck going too wide against the Hawks at the unique Aurora Stadium.

The main question over Adelaide is its ability to stand-up in big matches – and in particular finals. The idea that the Crows could be considered chokers would be galling to Neil Craig. But under Craig they have won just two of six finals – three of those losses by 10 points or fewer.

Some say Craig’s game-style struggles under the pressure of one-on-one finals football. If this is the case, it mystifies me why the opposition doesn’t play that way against them in the home-and-away season.

There is still a long way to go, but you can be sure there will be no side better prepared, better practised than Adelaide.  The coach must be very happy with their progress, just don’t expect him to show it.