In seasons past, supporters of opposition teams have approached matches with the unpredictable Blues fearing an upset loss, but Craig sees those days are over.
"Carlton is starting to emerge as a club," he said. "They have some real talent now, as they should have, because of the draft picks they’ve had over the years.
"It’s no longer a danger game - that’s the terminology a lot of people use [for games against lowly ranked teams]. It’s not a danger game - it’s a legitimate game of footy and I think, maybe, over the last couple of weeks the football community has actually said, ‘Well, that’s the sort of thing they should be starting to do’.
"They’ll start to become a formidable opponent, I think, from now on."
Adelaide had a short training session on Friday morning before flying to Melbourne for Saturday's game at the MCG.
The clash will be the Crows' first at the venue since round 10 last season and Craig said it was important for young players like Kurt Tippett, David Mackay and Bernie Vince to experience playing at the home of football.
"If we’re good enough at any stage to get there - to the big stuff [the grand final], the MCG is where you have to play and where you have to perform. So let’s embrace it," Craig said.
"The interstate clubs don’t get many opportunities to play at the MCG, so we need to maximise every opportunity we get."
Members of Adelaide’s young onball brigade will also be entrusted with one of the biggest jobs in football on Saturday; minding Blues captain Chris Judd, who has played a key role in his side's successive wins.
Rob Shirley, Michael Doughty and Nathan van Berlo have all played on Judd in the past, but Craig said he might be tempted to try attacking midfielders Jason Porplyzia, Richie Douglas or Vince in a defensive role.
"Rob Shirley has the capacity to find something extra very quickly," Craig said. "I have great confidence in Rob, if he’s the person who gets Judd and I’m sure he will at some stage.
"We’ve got Mick Doughty and we all know what his form is like, so he’s a possibility and we’ve also got some midfielders who might need to be exposed to playing on Chris Judd from an educational point of view. We won’t hesitate to do that if the right opportunity comes."
Adelaide has made just the one change to the team that beat Fremantle last week, with Chris Knights replacing draftee Jarrhan Jacky.
Knights has not played since straining his quad in the NAB Cup Grand Final, but Craig said he didn't really contemplate bringing the young ball magnet back through the SANFL.
"Chris will be right to go," he confirmed. "He’s sat in on all the meetings. His game knowledge is good and he did all the pre-season, so he’s got all that information.
"It’s important for him to be exposed to an opportunity to come back into the side, and perform, after a reasonably long period of time away from the game. I think it’s been six or seven weeks now.
"He needs to experience that to see how he handles it. He’s also a significant part of the midfield we’re trying to develop.
"From day one in pre-season he’s been earmarked to play in the midfield with the names that you already know of and we thought it was important to bring him back pretty quickly."
