Adelaide great and Brownlow medallist Mark Ricciuto has called on Crows coach Brenton Sanderson to put his midfield strike weapon Patrick Dangerfield on Gary Ablett to negate the Gold Coast SUNS skipper’s influence in Sunday’s clash at Adelaide Oval.

Dangerfield has finished in the Brownlow top-10 the past two seasons and also earnt All-Australian selection in both years, but in his column for the Adelaide Advertiser, Riccuito said he believed the best approach for the inconsistent Crows was to let two of the competition’s superstars go head-to-head.

“Sando, forget about tagging the superstar let’s put the man we call Danger on him and let them put on a display for all to enjoy,” Riccuito wrote.

Dangerfield suffered bruising to his back in the five-point loss to Carlton on Sunday, but it isn’t expected to keep him out of the teams’ round 11 encounter.

Last season, Nathan van Berlo sat on Ablett for most of the clash at Metricon Stadium, which the Crows won by 28 points, while Dangerfield matched up on Jaeger O’Meara.

Crows captain van Berlo remains sidelined after rupturing his Achilles tendon in the pre-season, which means Sanderson will have to find another match-up for Ablett, who has averaged almost 36 possessions and over two goals per game against Adelaide in SUNS colours.

Ricciuto – himself an eight-time All-Australian – believes seven-time selection Ablett may finish his career with a better resume than the likes of Leigh Matthews, Wayne Carey and his father, Gary Ablett Snr.

“What might separate him from the others is what he can lead the SUNS to over the remainder of his career.

“The SUNS sit third on the ladder now and will continue to improve sharply. Can he become a premiership captain like Matthews and Carey once or even twice?

“It would be a brave man to bet against it happening.”