Adelaide's effort to correct a poor record at home to Collingwood will be made without young battering ram Patrick Dangerfield.

Since the Crows' round 18 loss to Geelong, Dangerfield has complained of back soreness.

Assessment of the problem uncovered a strain, meaning 19-year-old Dangerfield will be out for at least one week.

Dangerfield had played every game in 2009, winning plenty of respect for his fearless attack on the ball but also suffering plenty of hefty physical contact, including several heavy knocks to the head.

The Crows are more confident of retaining key defender Nathan Bock for their Saturday night fixture despite the use of an over-sized "moon boot" to help repair a bruised heel.

Bock intends to prove his fitness by training at the club's final session on Friday morning.

His presence in the side would be a significant help for Adelaide as they attempt to beat a side that has enjoyed playing at AAMI Stadium - the Crows have lost seven of 13 meetings with the Magpies at the ground, including each of the past two.

"Teams in the past that have played for the club have made a record that we're not very proud of at the moment," said Crows running defender Graham Johncock.

"But as a playing group we're trying to rectify that and we've just got to make sure that we can even that up."

In round one, Adelaide surprised many by starting strongly then hanging tough in the final term to register a narrow win over Collingwood at the MCG, setting the tone for a season in which Neil Craig's side have exceeded all outside expectations.

The Magpies did a lot wrong that day, particularly in the amount of latitude they allowed to Andrew McLeod, and Johncock said it would take a concerted ensemble effort to repeat the dose.

"(We need to play) just like round one, everybody played their role so well, everybody was clear about what they had to do, the structures and weight of numbers," he said.

"A lot of younger guys are playing some really good footy with the older guys and we just need everybody up and running and getting a benchmark performance."

Collingwood's rich selection of small forwards, including Alan Didak, Leon Davis, Dale Thomas and Paul Medhurst, will give Johncock plenty of cause to prepare carefully this week.

"They're all very dangerous, so there are going to be some pretty big match-ups for some guys," he said.

"Hopefully, we can do the job."

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