MEET the Crow on track to join the heady company of Gary Ablett, Patrick Dangerfield, Dane Swan, Matthew Boyd and Leigh Montagna.

Paul Seedsman will become the sixth player – behind the aforementioned All Australians – to average at least 500 metres gained, 3.5 intercepts, 3.5 tackles and one score assist if he maintains his current pace.

His 621 metres gained per game are also ahead of Dangerfield's 2016 season record of 620.

The Adelaide wingman is arguably the competition's biggest surprise stats smash hit, in the wake of Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson bemoaning the extinction of that position.

Seedsman, the ex-Magpie who joined the Crows in the 2015 trade period, thrived after winning a senior opportunity in round 19 last year and has taken his game to another level in 2018.

His numbers – many of them career highs – scream versatility and make for impressive reading: 24.4 disposals (8.3 contested), 5.2 inside 50s (equal-eighth in the AFL), three rebound 50s, 2.6 clearances, 3.7 tackles and 1.1 goal assists.

Seedsman ranks first at Adelaide for metres gained and effective metres gained – he is also No.1 in the AFL in both – inside 50s, score assists and score involvements, and second in looseball-gets.

"We knew what we were getting when we got him here," Crows midfield coach Scott Camporeale told AFL.com.au.

"Having coached against him and watched him from afar; he was someone we really targeted and needed.

"We had a lot of guys who were good inside, but we probably didn't quite have the balance of some guys who could run wings and run the lines, so he was a good fit for us.

"We couldn't get a lot out of him in his first probably 18 months (because of injuries), but this year he's gone to the level we probably expected he could get to."

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Seedsman is out of contract at season's end, but has established himself as a walk-up start at Adelaide, so that situation should take care of itself soon enough.

The 26-year-old is also finally rid of the hamstring and groin problems that spoiled the start of his second AFL chance.

It was horrid luck after Seedsman sought greater playing opportunities following 49 matches in five seasons at Collingwood, including winning the 2015 Anzac Day Medal.

Camporeale lauds Seedsman's "really good footy brain", running power, marking ability and elite kicking skills – and said wingmen remained "critical" in the modern game.

"Those guys are generally your best runners and they cover the ground and can play big minutes for you," Camporeale said.

"They generally patrol up and down the ground and are your link players between the arcs, but can also provide an option up forward or help out defensively down back."

Contested ball kings

Sticking with the Adelaide theme, the Crows set a new contested possession record in Friday night's demolition of the Western Bulldogs.

Don Pyke's men amassed 213 in the 37-point win, beating by five their own record from round one this year.

They also twice recorded 192 in a match, giving them a total of four entries in the top-10 highest tallies.

Sydney in 2011 (203) and Greater Western Sydney in 2016 (200) are the only other clubs to register at least 200 contested possessions in a game.

Locking down Dusty 

Stiff-arm specialist Dustin Martin is breaking fewer tackles and finding far less room this year than in his Brownlow Medal-winning campaign.

The champion Tiger is averaging 2.3 broken tackles per game, down from 3.3 in 2017, and 83 per cent of his disposals, up from 76 per cent, have been under pressure.

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As a result, Martin's kick-to-handball ratio has plummeted from 1.81 last year to 1.49, as has his metres gained from 519 a match to 419 in 2018.

New Demon trend or just a mirage? 

Melbourne vaulted to third spot on the strength of its 109-point pummeling of Carlton at the MCG on Sunday, capping a soft-as-butter month of football.

The Demons beat Essendon, St Kilda, Gold Coast and Carlton – all placed in the bottom five – in that period and have won 14 consecutive quarters in the process.

A streak of that length or more has occurred only eight times since 2000, with West Coast the most recent team to do it three years ago.

Geelong boasts the longest run of 21 straight terms, from the opening quarter in round six, 2010 until losing the second term in round 11.

But this is the same Melbourne known for costly lapses.

The Demons conceded bulk goals in a hurry in each of the first five rounds, after losing eight quarters last year by at least 30 points and 14 by 20 points or more.