Adelaide will be bolstered for their challenging AFL round 18 road trip to Geelong by the return of Tyson Edwards from a hamstring injury.

Having been out of action for a fortnight, Edwards will add welcome nous to the Crows' clearance work, one of few statistical categories they did not win during a 70-point hiding of Port Adelaide.

In addition to Edwards, the Crows will consider the selection claims of young forward Taylor Walker, who kicked seven goals and also impressed with his defensive work for Norwood in the SANFL.

Crows defender Ben Rutten said Walker's effort had put him in the frame to face the Cats.

"He kicked seven goals and took some good contested marks, which is what we've been looking for from Taylor," Rutten said on Monday.

"He knows that's the area he needs to improve on to get back into the team.

"Seven goals and some good contested marks aren't going to do his chances any harm."

The Crows are playing Geelong at a time when the usually formidable Cats are showing signs of fallibility, having lost twice in the past month then sneaking past Hawthorn by a solitary point in round 17.

However Rutten dismissed any notion that Adelaide were playing the Cats at an opportune moment.

"Geelong has still been able to win despite all the injuries they've had," Rutten said.

"In the last quarter against Hawthorn they were undermanned and it just showed the quality of their group and their depth.

"They're going to be a tough match-up."

Rutten identified Adelaide's greatest challenge over the rest of the season as improving their ability to impose their own game style on quality opponents such as the Cats.

"St Kilda dictated to us a bit when we played them, but on the weekend our pressure at the ball carrier and some of our execution and ability to finish the play was really good," he said.

"That's something we need to make sure we do for four quarters."

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