Crows coach Phil Walsh says he expects Rory Sloane to take his place in the team to play Collingwood despite not training on Friday.

Sloane was one of Adelaide’s best players in the Round One win over North Melbourne. The 25-year-old flew to Melbourne with the team on Friday afternoon and Walsh said the midfielder wasn’t in any doubt.

“Sloaney is right to go. He was just a bit tight (in his leg) and we didn’t want to train him two days in a row. He’s fine,” Walsh said.

Veteran midfielder Scott Thompson won’t play in the Club’s clash with the Pies at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

The two-time Club Champion, who missed all of the NAB Challenge, made his return from a hamstring complaint in Adelaide’s SANFL trial match last weekend.

Thompson gathered 23 possessions in three quarters of football, but Walsh said he wanted the All Australian to gain more match practice in the local league before being recalled to the AFL team.

"Scott Thompson's an important player for us, he's been a great player for the footy club," he said.

"I'm probably a coach who likes all my players to play two practice games; Scott's probably a little bit of an exception because of his experience.

"I thought he was really good last week but again it’s only Round One ... we'll give Scott one more game in the state league."

James Podsiadly will join Thompson in the SANFL again this week.

The 33-year-old booted 26 goals in 21 games for the Crows last year, but has trained heavily in defence throughout the pre-season to try and diversify his game day role.

Walsh said Podsiadly was being kept out of the best 22 by Kyle Hartigan in defence, and by Josh Jenkins in attack.

In last week's SANFL trial Podsiadly was one of the side's best as a full back general. He was named an emergency for Adelaide's round two clash with Collingwood but didn't travel with the team on Friday afternoon.

"I still think 'Pods' has got some roles to play for the club. Will it be every week? No," Walsh said.

"It's round one, let's just wait for the season to get going. I've been really happy with what Pods has done so far. At this point in time, though, I'm happy to go with Kyle Hartigan down back and Josh Jenkins up forward.

"They're probably the two spots I'm looking to use Pods though at some stage."

The Crows will be aiming to back up an impressive Round One win with another strong performance against the Magpies, who were also “terrific” in their away win over the Brisbane Lions.

Consistency was an issue for Adelaide last season, but Walsh said he wasn’t worried about the past.

“I don’t look back to last year. It’s a new team as far as I’m concerned and a new season,” he said.

“We’re embracing it. We’re ready to go and well prepared. I’m expecting (us) to play well. We’re a Club that wants to be able to perform anywhere, at any venue and at any time.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to show the people in Melbourne what the Adelaide Crows can do this year.”

Adelaide’s defensive pressure against North Melbourne was described as “maniacal”, with the exception of a lapse early in the third term.

Walsh said the challenge for his team was to maintain the rage for the full four quarters.

“Can you do that in whole game of AFL footy? It’s really difficult. Do we want to? Yes. We’ll be trying to do that. Will it take more training and more coaching? Maybe.

“But I’m really happy with the buy-in I’ve had from this group.”