Brodie Smith won't be an All-Australian this year. Indeed, this season, he's not even in the preliminary squad of 40 announced last week.

On a personal level, there have been more obstacles. Not just one, but two heavy concussions. A self-confessed mid-season flat patch. And even last week, a scare after an ankle injury against Geelong in the final home-and-away game left him, briefly, in a moon boot.

Then there's the competition. Unlike last season, when his emergence from low-profile Adelaide player to cream of the AFL crop was one of the stories of the year, this time there's in-form medium-sized and small defenders everywhere.

But asked post-game after Adelaide's thrilling win over the Western Bulldogs whether he'd take this year over last, Smith barely hesitates.

"Oh, bloody oath," he yells over the din in the visitor's room, still barely audible as the hordes of well-wishers toast the continuation of the season's most remarkable story on a team level.

"This is what you play footy for," he smiles, looking around. "This is what it's about, to play in September, and to win finals games. And we've got one now … we just want to keep going."

And while it's Adelaide's potent attack, ranked third in the competition, which has taken most of the plaudits, their far lower-profile defence is also giving them every chance of doing that.

Far from low-profile now, Smith is one of the bigger calling cards of the Crows' backline, along with another All-Australian of last year in Daniel Talia. Now Rory Laird has a nomination. But other, little-heralded defenders in the east, like Luke Brown and Kyle Hartigan, are also doing their bit.

The Crows have shaved nearly a goal per game from their points-conceded average in 2015. It may not sound like much, but it's been enough to lift their defensive ranking from 11th to sixth, far more in keeping with the profile of a potential premiership team.

"We think we've got it pretty well sorted," Smith says. "We rely heavily on a team defence. Our mids and forwards putting pressure on makes it easier for us backs to get the job done and then counter-attack through the midfield."

And Smith's own form has come good. He was among Adelaide's best again on Saturday night, the penetrating kicking a big weapon and his disposal efficiency of 83 per cent the second-highest he's recorded all year.

"I had a bit of flat patch in the middle of the year, and wasn't to the level I wanted, but over the second half I feel like I've got my game back and have got a bit more rhythm," he says.

When Phil Walsh took over as Adelaide coach, he hammered the need for the Crows to improve their defensive game. But that didn't mean, says Smith, he wasn't interested in what his attack had to offer.

And since Walsh's tragic death, that curve has also continued upwards. Adelaide ended the season averaging more than 100 points per game. In the first 12 games of this season, the Crows topped the ton three times. In 10 games since, they've done it on six occasions.

Eddie Betts and Taylor Walker have 121 goals between them. Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch and Charlie Cameron have combined for another 100. It's plenty of food for thought even for a side as well-equipped as this week's semi-final opponent Hawthorn.

"We've got a lot of avenues to goal," says Smith in a nice touch of understatement. "Phil was massive on defence, but he also liked his attack as well. We build our attack off that defence. We get it down to those massive units down there [Walker, Jenkins and Lynch], and with Charlie and Eddie at their feet, it's a pretty dangerous forward set-up."

Perhaps, though, Adelaide's single biggest asset is the leadership being delivered from the top, never more significantly than in the final quarters played by Walker and Patrick Dangerfield on Saturday night. Smith nods.

"Yeah, they've done that all year. After the tragedy we've had, those blokes have really led the way. You saw the captain's game 'Tex' played, and 'Danger' and all those boys in and under the packs. I'm just so proud of them all."

As is most of the football world, not only of them, and Smith and the rest of his teammates, but an entire club which has continued to gather strength in the face of unprecedented sadness. And that, too, is something Smith wouldn't trade in just for an All-Australian gong.