Showdown-weary Adelaide will have the physical and mental resources to inflict on Hawthorn a first AFL defeat of the season, according to Crows coach Neil Craig.

Battered but victorious against Port Adelaide last week, the Crows have the added obstacle of a day's less preparation than the soaring Hawks.

Craig was sure his men were capable of producing a winning performance at Launceston's Aurora Stadium, and defied the notion that the showdown must be followed by a let-down.

Of last Sunday's casualties only Luke Jericho (fractured sternum) and Kris Massie (hamstring strain) will be unavailable, after strong recoveries by Jon Griffin, Nathan Bassett (both concussion) and Jason Porplyzia (shoulder).

"Physically I don't think it will be an issue at all, all the measures we take, objective and subjective, have indicated the guys have recovered and are ready to go," Craig said.

"Just as important from my point of view, what you see on the track which is more about the sharpness and decision making, was very good today.

"I thought they trained very well, so physically it's not an issue and mentally it's a great opportunity for us.

"We understand who we're playing, a side that sits top of the table after three rounds playing good football, a lot of talent, well coached, and we'd be really disappointed to sit here next week and saying we had a let-down mentally."

Massie's absence removes the possibility of a sequel to his disastrous 2007 elimination final match-up on Lance Franklin, and Craig offered up four potential names for that job.

"I understand why Franklin is topical, we've been through that; Kris won't be available but we didn't play him in the pre-season cup either, but we've got (Nathan) Bock, we've got (Ben) Rutten, Nathan Bassett can play him, Scott Stevens, so we've got some flexibility," Craig said.

"(Bock and Rutten) were okay (in the pre-season cup), he kicked four goals, three in the last quarter, so he's a dangerous player.

"Sometimes that type of player you sometimes think you've got them under control and because of their talent and the way they play they can do something exceptional in a very short period of time."

Exceptional was how many described Adelaide's resilience and focus against a bump-oriented Power, and the Hawks promise to offer a similarly physical approach based on their game against North Melbourne.

Craig said the Crows' response to Port Adelaide was nothing more than what he expected each week - a single-minded attack on the ball to ensure the Crows always won their share of contests.

"I didn't think we got anything special from ourselves, we just played the game the way we always want to try to play, and that's get hold of the ball, that's the most important thing," he said.

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