Adelaide Crows 2013 AFL season preview 2013 preview: Fox Footy expert Brad Johnson says Adelaide will struggle to repeat the highs of last season Adelaide Crows midfielder Patrick Dangerfield in his first hit-out for the year. VIDEO: ADELAIDE faces a tough battle to back up last year's extraordinary rise up the ladder. Brenton Sanderson transformed the Crows in his first year as coach. The Crows became a hardball-winning, long kicking machine - and went from 14th on the ladder to almost pinching a spot in the Grand Final. Champion Data's AFL Prospectus reveals the numbers behind the change - Adelaide went from ranking 11th in the competition for winning contested possessions to a clear No.1. It went from the third-lowest kick-to-handball ratio to the highest in the comp. Check out our Adelaide SuperCoach best buys here With young gun midfielders Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane on the rise, the Rising Star Award winner Daniel Talia down back and Taylor Walker and his flowing mullet patrolling the forward line, it seems the sky is the limit for this team. Preparations for 2013 haven't gone entirely to plan, however. First, Kurt Tippett walked out - and as much as you might question his huge pay packet, that is 39 goals the Crows will have to find from somewhere else this year. And more pressure on Walker. On Saturday Adelaide had close to a full-strength line-up against a Geelong team packed with kids - and trailed by 42 points at quarter-time. Western Bulldogs champion and Fox Footy expert Brad Johnson expects the Crows to make the finals this year, but says they will slip out of the top four. Watch the exclusive video above to find out why.