It might only be round one, but the form the Dogs showed on Sunday at Telstra Dome – and the performance of one key forward in particular – has the fans cheering and Whitten Oval bubbling with excitement.
The old clichés "one week at a time" and "we can't afford to get complacent" will always get rolled out at this stage of the season, but what cannot be ignored is the speed, precision and skilfulness used to defeat the Cats by 20 points.
The biggest headline to come out of Sunday's game was "Brad Johnson equals superstar". The captain was unstoppable as he kicked eight goals and shrugged off challenges from Cats' defenders Matthew Scarlett and Tom Harley.
Despite falling 10cm short of his two opponents, Johnson's superb fitness and marking prowess saw the skipper picked up an impressive 24 possessions, take seven marks and add 8.1 to the Dogs' final tally of 17.11.
While Johnson was busy making himself the star attraction of Sunday's game, two of his new teammates slipped quietly into the line-up for the first time.
Former flamboyant Brisbane Lion Jason Akermanis made his presence felt with one goal, 13 disposals and his famous celebratory handstand at the end of the match, while former Eagle Andrew McDougall had a quiet day with 10 possessions and four marks.
Another two "new recruits" ran out on Sunday, and the rapturous army of supporters – who were decked out with their new Ted's Mini Towels – greeted the luckless Luke Darcy and fellow knee reconstruction recipient, Robert Murphy.
Darcy's appearance overshone the return of Murphy, considering the former has been out of the game for almost two years after first rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in round six, 2005.
In the first half, it appeared the changing pace of the game had hit Darcy for six as he struggled to keep up with the cracking speed that is the Dogs’ calling card.
But he found his feet alongside Johnson, playing 15 minutes a quarter, and celebrated his return by kicking the first goal of the second half.
Murphy's return didn't go quite to plan and the small forward spent a large portion of the second half on the bench after corking his hip in a marking contest. He ended the afternoon with 11 disposals and one goal.
Adam Cooney, after enduring a pre-season that was hampered by a bout of osteitis pubis, put to rest any suggestion he is underdone. The dangerous No.1 draft pick from 2003 picked up 29 possessions and kicked two goals.
Daniel Cross and Lindsay Gilbee fought hard through the middle all afternoon. While Cross earned himself a whopping 37 possession, Gilbee demonstrated his brilliant kicking abilities 22 times, and gathered 31 disposals all-up.
This week, the players and coaching staff must realign their focus to the task of hosting the Crows this Sunday at the MCG.
With Johnson clearly in ominous form, Nathan Bassett could be in for a tough afternoon, while Ben Rutten could be anticipating a duel with Darcy, who believes his own performance will "improve every week" as he gets used to playing at the highest level again.
Adelaide will travel to Melbourne on the back of a surprising loss to the Bombers, who caught the Crows napping on Sunday afternoon as they put together a 31-point victory at AAMI Stadium.
The Crows will again be without skipper Mark Ricciuto, who is set to miss at least a month with a back complaint, and will be headed by Brett Burton, Andrew McLeod and Simon Goodwin, although Goodwin remains under an injury cloud after corking his thigh early in Sunday's game.
