Coach Ken Hinkley's side convincingly beat Melbourne by 79 points in round one, and followed that result up by defeating Greater Western Sydney by 56 points in round two.
But with both of those sides likely to finish in the bottom four, few agree the Power's lofty standing on the ladder is a true reflection of its place in the competition.
While refusing to label Sunday's game as “season-defining”, Hinkley said there was no escaping the importance of Showdown XXXIV.
"Clearly it's a big game in this town, and we want to put on a good show," Hinkley said.
"I remember talking to 'Sando' (Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson) early on when I got appointed, that the Showdowns are important in this town and we both value them that way.
"It's an important game in our season, but it's no more important [than any other game] if you look purely over the whole season."
Sunday's match is without doubt a tougher prospect for the Power than facing the Demons or Giants.
Adelaide was just a kick away from the Grand Final last year and, while it hasn't managed to rocket out of the blocks, it remains confident it can be a serious player in September.
But Hinkley refused to lock the Crows in as his side's greatest test, reasoning it would be continually tested all year after suffering through two horror seasons where the club finished 16th in 2011 and 14th last year.
"Each game's been a big test for us; that's where we're coming from," he said.
"Each week's important to you, but I'm not going to shy away from the fact Showdown is an important game."
After the high of winning last weekend's John McCarthy tribute game, Hinkley couldn't say whether his players had suffered a sort of emotional hangover.
He said an eight-day break meant they should have had enough time to refocus for the Showdown, but added the side’s mental state would remain an unknown until the opening bounce.
"That's difficult to judge, and I suppose we'll see a little bit of that on Sunday," he said.
"I know the build-up to the game last week was pretty challenging for the boys, and there were obviously a lot of emotional reasons [why] … at the end of the game they were relived that they perhaps were able to do justice to what they wanted to.
"I'm not sure whether it'll have any hangover this week.”
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
