Adelaide expect to feed off Jordan Dawson's energy when the club captain returns for a rare trip to the MCG to take on Richmond.

Dawson has missed two of the Crows' last three matches following the death of his eldest brother.

The 29-year-old resumed training this week and looms as a key inclusion to face the Tigers on Sunday.

"He's an energy for our group," Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks told reporters on Thursday.

"Our group love having him around, he's been here all week and I know he's really keen to play.

"We'll train today and make sure that everything runs smoothly, but we expect him to play this weekend."

Dawson missed the Crows' one-point win over St Kilda, returned for a 52-point loss to Brisbane, then missed the one-point victory over arch-rivals Port Adelaide.

"It was interesting watching 'Daws' when we played in Brisbane and the different emotions that he went through," Nicks said.

"Running out on the ground there was a real smile on his face and he was back to what he loves doing amongst his teammates and playing footy, and he performed so well in that game.

"But (then there is) the emotion post-game when the reality kicks in of what he has gone through and the loss that he's experienced."

After a straight-sets finals exit as minor premiers last year, Adelaide have endured a slow start to 2026.

But they have steadied the ship with wins in three of their last four outings and are building confidence ahead of games against Richmond, North Melbourne (home) and Hawthorn (away) before a mid-season bye.

"It's not stand-out at this point, but internally we feel quite optimistic about where our game's getting to," Nicks said.

"We're starting to see a little bit more of the shape that we're after and a little bit more of that cohesion that we built to last year.

"If you look at this time last year, we were humming along maybe too early, so you learn a bit from different seasons."

Adelaide have only two home-and-away fixtures at the MCG this season and are eager to leave another mark at the grand final venue, where they beat Collingwood by 14 points in round one.

"These games are a great preparation for us, to go down and challenge ourselves to perform on the ground," Nicks said.

"We actually enjoy playing down there."