Crows coach Don Pyke is preparing for a tough slog against North Melbourne on Thursday night regardless of the weather conditions.

The forecast in Adelaide for late in the week is showers with a possible thunderstorm.

Led by hardened midfielders Jack Ziebell, Andrew Swallow and Ben Cunnington, the Kangaroos are strong around the contest. 

They have the highest tackle differential (+ 8.8) of any team. Swallow and Cunnington are both in the mix to return from injury against Adelaide.

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The Crows, who boast the likes of Rory Sloane, Scott Thompson and Matt Crouch, are also proficient at winning the ball in tight.

Pyke said the probable wet weather was unlikely to favour either team.

“North Melbourne is pretty renowned as a hard, contested footy side and we’ll expect that challenge is going to confront us regardless of (weather) conditions,” Pyke said on Tuesday.

“The conditions will be the same for both sides, so it won’t really be a factor.

“North’s been all year, if not the best, one of the best teams in the competition.

“It’s another great challenge.”

The conditions will be in stark contrast to when the teams met under the roof of Etihad Stadium in Round One.

On that night, the Kangaroos came from three goals down at half time to record a 10-point win.

“Looking back on that game, there were some things we wanted to improve on and I think we have improved,” Pyke said.

“We’ll get another test of that against a really high-quality opposition this week.”

North Melbourne tall forwards Jarrad Waite, Drew Petrie and Ben Brown booted seven goals between them in the season opener, against a defence that Pyke said was smaller than it would be on Thursday night.

Key defender Kyle Hartigan, who was overlooked in Round One, will help restrict the Roos’ big bodies at Adelaide Oval, but Pyke said the real key would be to restrict the side’s midfield.

"We went in slightly smaller (in Round One) from that game, I think Nathan van Berlo played and Kyle Hartigan didn’t," he said.

"Kyle’s been in fantastic form so we’ll have a slightly different mix this week.

"They’ve got the three tall targets down there but it all comes down to supply – if we can stop the supply it makes it easier on the backs."

Adelaide heads into the blockbuster match fresh after a bye, while North Melbourne is coming off consecutive six-day breaks and a physical encounter against reigning premiers Hawthorn.

Off the field, the Club has been caught up in the controversy surrounding coach Brad Scott’s comments about umpiring in Friday night’s loss to the Hawks. The Roos and Scott have since apologised unreservedly and retracted the remarks.

Pyke said he didn’t expect the short turnaround between games, or the events of the week to affect the North Melbourne players on Thursday night.

“I’d be surprised if it has any influence,” he said.

“History would say that it (the bye) may work both ways. We’ll come in fresh, but teams win off a six-day break all the time, so I don’t think it gives us any real advantage

“We had a good session on Saturday and another good run yesterday. The guys are in a good head space.

“We’re looking forward to this next part of the season and that starts with North on Thursday night.”

Adelaide has won its last four games and, fortunately, has few injury concerns.

Brad Crouch, Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Ricky Henderson, Andy Otten, Reilly O’Brien and Troy Menzel were among the Club’s best players in the Round 11 SANFL win over Norwood.

“Pleasingly, there were a lot of really strong performances against Norwood. The pressure is there for spots,” Pyke said.

“That said, (the AFL team) has won four in a row and the team performed really well against West Coast. There’s potential for some changes, but I can’t imagine it’s going to be wholesale.”

The Thursday night fixture at Adelaide Oval has been a hit with fans and television viewers in recent years.

This will be the Club’s third-ever ‘home’ game in the prime time slot.

An average of nearly 50,000 fans turned out to watch Adelaide’s two previous Thursday night blockbusters against Hawthorn and Collingwood.

Pyke said the match had become a highlight on the Crows calendar.

“It’s an opportunity for the Club to have, if you like, a marquee game on a Thursday night,” he said.

“I know the weather is looking a bit ordinary, but I encourage all our members to get along. I think we’ve still got a few seats for sale. It’d be great to fill Adelaide Oval again and really have a big night.

“The team is back at home in a big game, and we’d love their support.”