It's no wonder Adelaide has got to the stage where it is virtually unbackable to win this year's AFL premiership.

As bookmakers around Australia report premiership betting has almost dried up due to the Crows' dominance this season - it is fast becoming obvious Adelaide's 2006 season resembles those of some of the competition's most recent champion teams.

While the Brisbane side of 2001-03 remains the modern day benchmark after becoming the first club in 46 years to win three successive flags - none of those sides was able to dominate a home and away season the way Adelaide has so far this year.

The Lions didn't even finish the season on top in any of those seasons and in 2003 actually finished third with only 14 wins and a draw.

The Crows are two games plus percentage clear on top of the ladder with 14 wins from 16 rounds this season and will all but secure top spot - with five rounds remaining - if they beat second placed West Coast in Perth this week.

Their only two losses were by less than a kick - against the Eagles in Adelaide in round two and against Richmond at Telstra Dome in round eight.

The only two teams in recent history with a comparable record after 16 rounds were Carlton of 1995 and Essendon of 2000.

Both teams went on to win the premiership in a cakewalk - beating Geelong and Melbourne respectively by ten goals in dreadfully one-sided grand finals.

And the bad news for those clubs hoping to find a way to beat Adelaide this September is statistically the Crows of 2006 are an even better than either of those two champions teams.

While the Bombers of 2000 were unbeaten after 16 rounds and would only lose one game all season in claiming the flag, even their average winning margin at this stage of the season was not as good as Adelaide's this year.

And the same with Carlton in 1995, even though the Blues had compiled the same record as the Crows - 14 wins from 16 rounds.

The other difference between the Crows of 2006 and the Blues of 1995 is that while Adelaide's two losses this year have been by two and three points respectively, Carlton's two defeats that season were huge - by 72 points against the Swans and by 56 points against St Kilda on a day when they only kicked three goals.

But after those two setbacks in rounds eight and nine, the Blues would go on to claim the flag by winning their last 16 matches.

While Adelaide has to go on to claim the premiership to emulate the feats of the Bombers of 2000 and Blues of 1995, it is certainly on course to do so.

The Crows have won their past eight games by an average margin of 65 points and their average winning margin over the entire season has been 54 points.

This compares to Essendon's average of 47 points at this stage of the 2000 season and Carlton's average of 36 points at this stage of the 1995 season.

The Crows' defence is fast reaching legendary status - having not conceded 100 points on one single occasion this year - something the Blues had already done on three occasions by this stage of 1995 and even the all-conquering Bombers did once in 2000.

Adelaide has conceded an average of just 64.5 points per game this year, which is far superior to both the Blues of 1995 and the Bombers of 2000 after 16 rounds.

The Blues, with the AFL's full back of the century in Stephen Silvagni at the peak of his powers, had conceded an average of 76 points per game while the Bombers had conceded an average of 81 points.

In terms of attack the Crows, with 111 points per game this year, were also superior to the Blues - who averaged 104 through the first 16 rounds - although they are behind Essendon's average of 127 points in 2000.

But it can be argued that it is far more difficult to score these days than in 2000 due to the huge rise in defensive tactics being employed by all coaches.

And it is a simple fact that the Crows still have scored more points and conceded fewer points than any rival team this year, with their defence having conceded 208 points less than the next best defensive team - St Kilda.

It all adds up to a daunting proposition for the other seven teams that will have to oppose Neil Craig's juggernaut come September.