Adelaide is under pressure to keep its place in the top-four but believe Friday night's game against Essendon is just the high-profile event it needs to restore its early-season form.
Sydney's win over Port, Brisbane's victory over St Kilda and upset results for North Melbourne and Collingwood means the pack is closing on the Crows. After nine rounds there is only four premiership points separating fourth and eighth.
Onballer Brent Reilly said his side blew their chance to consolidate fourth spot after losing to West Coast by 50 points on the weekend.
"Very big opportunity missed. If we had won it would've set us up for the year in the top four but unfortunately we didn't," he said.
"It puts pressure back on us now to go out there this weekend and perform the way we want to perform."
"It just shows how even the competition is. It doesn't matter who you are playing against, if it's the bottom side or the top side, anyone can beat you on the day."
Reilly said Adelaide was keen to show they were a legitimate top-four contender by playing well on the big stage that is Friday-night football.
"We are looking forward to showing the nation how we can really play," he said.
"It's Friday night footy, it's what we love playing in and it's something everyone watches on Friday night at 8.30. It's a national stage, it's a massive game for us."
The Crows will enter the clash favourites but are wary of the pitfalls that come with playing one of the lower ranked sides. Their poor performance against the struggling Eagles was an eye-opener while the Bombers' recent record against them should ensure there's no complacency.
"They beat us twice last year. They beat us out here in Round 1 so they are a good side even though (Kevin) Sheedy has gone and a few personnel have gone. They still have a young list of very good players,” he said.
This Friday's game is another step in Reilly's comeback with the clash against the Eagles his first competitive hit-out since breaking his wrist in Round 1.
The 24-year-old said the start of the season had been 'frustrating'.
"I'm looking forward to getting back into some good form and playing some good footy again," he said.
"Your first game is a bit rusty but I'm going to go out there this Friday night and hopefully play a really good game."
"Fitness was good, it was just the match fitness wasn't there and Subiaco is a big ground and there were a few moments there where I was a bit buggered."