Adelaide had kicked more Supergoals than their to-be opposition St Kilda and so was given the privilege of hosting the NAB Cup Grand Final.
In particular the members of the Adelaide Football Club were criticised for not attending their team's home final; though most media outlets spreading this criticism neglected to take into account the extreme heat (with very low humidity) which at night wouldn't have been too much of a problem because of the sun.
The rejuvenated midfield, replacing ageing champions such as Tyson Edwards and Simon Goodwin and freeing them to move into the forward line.
A new forward line thus emerged, featuring young key position forwards James Sellar and Kurt Tippett – both tipped to lead Adelaide's attack in the new era – along with the addition of veterans Andrew McLeod, Simon Goodwin and Tyson Edwards to provide experience and quality in what had long been Adelaide's Achilles' heel.
The season got off to an anticlimactic start in a high scoring shootout at the Telstra Dome as the Crows went down to the Western Bulldogs (126–123) when Nathan Bock missed a set shot on goal just as the siren sounded, which would have won the match.
[3] The club surprised all those who doubted them by thrashing finals hopefuls West Coast in a stunning round 2 display at home, winning by 76 points (133–57).
However, the Crows held firm, and managed to hold the victory by 6 points (85–79) as the home crowd of over 45,000 went into a frenzy after the final siren had sounded.
The Crows looked to continue their winning streak against a struggling, but hard to beat West Coast Eagles in a tough trip to Subiaco Oval in Round 9.
[11] In round ten of the 2008 season the Adelaide Crows overcame the Essendon Bombers in a close and hard fought match, finally coming out winners by five points: 74 – 69.
Burton was reported for a head-high bump to Essendon's Henry Slattery and was subsequently offered, and accepted, a two-match ban by the AFL's match-review committee.
Bernie Vince had 30 disposals, Scott Thompson kicked 6 goals, and Ivan Maric stepped up to dominate the ruck against the more experienced Simmonds.
The last quarter was again a close affair until the tough and calm Luke Hodge of Hawthorn snapped a goal with only a few minutes left on the clock to put the Hawks in front.
[19] Dominant second and third quarters, during which they kicked 11 goals to 5, helped Adelaide to a tight 8-point win (94–86) over Carlton at AAMI Stadium in their round 18 clash.
Brad Moran popped up with four goals at full-forward, a move that was forced by a heavy knock to Jason Porplyzia in the second term, which would redislocate his shoulder as well as causing potentially season-ending brain bruising.
Controversial draftee Patrick Dangerfield played his debut and showed potential despite being unspectacular, kicking a goal on the half-time siren.
The win guaranteed the Crows a place in the finals, and also put them in the top four pending the result of North Melbourne's clash with Carlton.
Of interest is the fact that this was the first time Adelaide had defeated Essendon in Melbourne, after 11 attempts spread over the 17 years since they entered the AFL competition.
Scott Stevens was brilliant and kicked 6 goals as Adelaide trailed for most of the game but threatened Collingwood with a final quarter comeback.