Crows' unfinished business

ADELAIDE has cast aside its underdog tag and declared it has "unfinished business" in Saturday's preliminary final against Hawthorn at the MCG.

Patrick Dangerfield

ADELAIDE has cast aside its underdog tag and declared it has "unfinished business" in Saturday's preliminary final against Hawthorn at the MCG.

As the money continues to flow for the flag-favourite Hawks - one punter yesterday plonked $100,000 on them at $1.15 to beat the Crows - All-Australian midfielder Patrick Dangerfield stressed Adelaide is far from satisfied with just making the prelim final.

"We spoke about it at the start of the pre-season, that we want to play finals footy, and it certainly feels like we've got unfinished business," Dangerfield said. "In my first year here full-time (2009), we played great footy, made the finals easily, won our first final and then lost to Collingwood. You think `fantastic, this will happen all the time'. Then the years following that you don't make the finals and the environment around the club when you are not winning is not a great place to be around.

"So you appreciate being in the finals so much more and it certainly makes you want to make the most of it."

Dangerfield's team-mate and fellow All-Australian Scott Thompson has also stressed to the Crows players - who have helped the club rise from 14th last year to the preliminary final - not to waste the opportunity to play in just the club's third grand final.

Thompson was a member of the Adelaide teams which lost consecutive preliminary finals to West Coast in 2005 and 2006 and said he is still haunted by them, particularly the '06 defeat when the Crows lost a four-goal lead at home.

"We were four or five goals up at half-time against West Coast, it's one that really sits in the guts, to be in that position," Thompson said.

Midfield ball magnet Thompson said the players fancy their chances of a massive upset. This is despite Adelaide blowing out to the long odds of $6.50.

"We have got great inner belief in what we think we're capable of doing," he said.

"We have got no control over what the bookies do ... we're confident and believe in what we're able to do.

"We have always had that belief within the group and whatever gets said outside is really out of our control."

Ruckman Sam Jacobs also embraced the underdog tag.

"Not many people are giving us a chance but that puts pressure on Hawthorn," Jacobs said.

"We are really excited at the opportunity that awaits us and we can't wait to get over there. We think our best is good enough to win."

Star Hawthorn key forward Lance Franklin looms large, but Thompson said the match will be decided in the midfield. "We have to try and get our hands on the ball and play the game in our forward half," he said.