ADELAIDE was meant to implode when Patrick Dangerfield walked out the doors at West Lakes to join Geelong.

Despite the Crows winning an elimination final in 2015 and retaining most of their core group of senior players, not one of AFL.com.au's reporters tipped them to finish in the top eight this season.

On paper the Crows' midfield looked thin, their backline shaky and they were facing a nightmarish opening eight rounds with a relatively unknown coach at the helm.

But at the halfway point of what loomed as a baptism of fire for Don Pyke, his side has instead constructed a finals launching pad.

Since narrowly going down to North Melbourne in round one, they've humiliated Showdown rivals Port Adelaide and pummeled a hapless Richmond, scoring 82 points directly from turnovers.

And in a litmus test on Saturday night, they outlasted the red-hot Sydney Swans in an Adelaide Oval epic, stamping themselves not just as a finals-quality outfit, but a genuine top four contender.

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Any suggestion that the Crows have become better off without Dangerfield is ridiculous, but what they are doing is playing better team football – much as Hawthorn did when Lance Franklin became a bird of a different feather.

The Crows are unselfish in attack, spreading the load through midfield, defending together and pouncing on turnovers, but also protecting the ball with their slicker disposal – a long-standing bugbear of fans.

After losing their superstar, the Crows had to change – and they have.

With Dangerfield, the AFL's No.1 centre clearance extractor in 2015, roving to Sam Jacobs, the Crows were the League's best side at scoring from restarts.

They've dropped to 11th in the competition this year, while they're no longer bullying opponents around the ball.

The Crows' contested ball differential has plummeted from nearly +10 (third in the AFL) last year to almost -2 (ninth in the AFL) without their reigning club champion.

But they are holding their own.

Scott Thompson has been in vintage touch and remains a beast around the ball. Rory Sloane is winning more of it out of the centre square, and supporting cast Matt Crouch, his brother Brad, Jarryd Lyons, Rory Atkins and ex-Magpie Paul Seedsman are stepping up after playing just 50 games between them in 2015.

The midfield is deeper than originally given credit, while defensively the Crows are fighting against the odds.

The backline has been put under the pump, conceding the third most inside 50s competition-wide and the 10th-most points.

Despite the barrage of incoming ball, Adelaide isn't allowing opposition marks inside 50 (seventh fewest marks against, up from 12th last year) and the Crows are scoring enough on the counter-attack when the Sherrin hits the deck or is intercepted to paper over the cracks.

Scoring 'out the back' is the modern way, and the Crows are perfecting ballistic slingshot footy.

Electric Eddie Betts and new sidekick Wayne Milera terrorise defenders, Josh Jenkins and Tom Lynch are no slouches, while raw 191cm young gun Mitch McGovern has added to arguably the most damaging forward setup in the game.

The usual suspects Betts (13 goals), Jenkins (11), Lynch (10) and Taylor Walker (9) are hitting the scoreboard, but McGovern (five) and Richard Douglas (five) are also chipping in to the AFL's second most potent offence.

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The Crows boast the AFL's second-most potent offence – only undefeated North Melbourne has scored more – however Adelaide is facing another huge challenge to prove its can match it with the best against Hawthorn at the MCG.

When the teams met in last year's semi-final, it was Dangerfield who battled nearly one-out in a 74-point humbling.

On Friday night, we'll see just how far the Crows have come.

STATS QUIRK OF THE ROUND: North Melbourne, sitting on top of the ladder, has conceded more points (412) than cellar-dwellers Carlton (403) after four rounds.

• Read more from the Stats Files