The midfielder will become the fifth Crow to play 300 AFL games when he fronts against Collingwood on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval.

“I’m not sure that players necessarily go out and play extra hard based on the fact that it’s Thommo’s 300th,” Pyke said.

“We will go about normal business in terms of how we want to play and prepare for the game. But we recognise it’s a unique night for the footy club and for Thommo.”

Pyke was the Crows’ midfield coach in 2005-06 when Adelaide-born Thompson returned after four seasons with Melbourne.

“I got to see him when he first arrived as aggressive, probably a little bit impatient, but clearly driven,” Pyke said.

“Returning down the track, to come across a slightly older, slightly wiser Thommo, he has just matured.”

Thompson will be the 75th AFL player to reach the 300 game milestone.

“It’s a massive achievement,” Pyke said.

“He has been a super player – you don’t play 300 games of AFL footy without having some real genuine quality, both as a person and as a player.

“His competitive spirit is probably the thing that stands out for me … he wills himself on and on.”

While most AFL pundits now see the Crows as a premiership contender – after seven wins on the trot – Pyke still sees some trends in his side which need addressing.

“I’m not going to go into detail about what they are. But there’s some things there that don’t really worry us, but things we want to keep improving,” Pyke told reporters on yesterday.

“We’re in a high intensity, really full-on competition, and we can’t be self-satisfied at all. We have got to keep looking for ways to get better.

“We are not sitting here being satisfied with what we have achieved. We recognise we have had some good wins, we have put ourselves in a good spot.

“But the game changes really quickly so we can’t sit back and overly reflect.”

Pyke’s Crows will again be without half-back Luke Brown, sidelined by a groin injury for a second week.

Brown is one of few injury concerns at Adelaide, who have used a league-low 27 players this season.

And while the Crows are certain finalists, Pyke said he won’t tinker with his side for the remainder of the season.

“We will select according to form, we’re not going to try and be too cute,” he said.

“Continuity is always important – continuity not only in playing but in training.

“Credit goes to (fitness coach) Brett Burton and our high performance team … we have had some fortune along the way, you don’t end up with less injuries without having some good fortune.

“But credit to those guys for the program they have put in place.”

-AAP