Matthew Leuenberger shapes as a key player heading into this weekend’s clash with Adelaide, according to Scott Lucas.

The Crows are undefeated and sit on top of the ladder, while the Bombers will be looking to rebound after their first loss of the season in a rain soaked match against Carlton.

Adelaide is ranked second for contested possession and third for centre clearances this season.

Lucas said the Bombers on-ball group, led by Leuenberger, would need to match it with their Crows counterparts.

“Their midfield is often talked about as not having enormous depth but they’ve been in fantastic form,” Lucas said.

“There is a really important role that Leuenberger will play – I thought he was really good in his first game back yesterday so he’ll have a big game.”

Leuenberger had a game leading 46 hit-outs against the Blues to go with his 13 possessions and six tackles.

The Bombers are ranked eighth for contested ball, 16^th for clearances and 17^th for centre clearances across the competition throughout the first three rounds of the season.

The side is also ranked number one for rebounds from the defensive 50.

After the match against Carlton, Coach John Worsfold said the Bombers need to force turnovers further up the field.

"We're letting teams get it out too easily. We're defending really well in our back 50 but we're giving them way too many entries in there," he said. 

"The story of our year so far is that we're having to score by rebounding the ball the length of the ground too many times. That's an area we've got to improve on." 

Lucas said the Bombers ability to maximise the volume and effectiveness of their clearances would be crucial against the Crows.

“Get more entries and give the forward line a chance because I think that’s really where you need to isolate the Adelaide backs and get some one-on-ones,” he said.

“On the flipside, they’ll need to defend very well and limit the entries Adelaide get because they do have a star-studded forward line that is performing well at the minute.”