FOOTBALL is a game of balance. Like so many things in life success is usually founded on getting the combinations right. Strength and technique will get you so far.

Flair and dynamism will take you somewhere else. All of one and none of the other? Fireworks on the way to darkness.

Apart from the total joy of being back at Hindmarsh Stadium watching my beloved Reds last Friday night there was another thrill that sent me home quietly pleased. No, not the win. I'd expected that and - happy as I was to watch our under-rated squad take the points off the returning Euro-roos - was more surprised when Craig Foster actually praised our play on TWG.

Adelaide have overachieved for a long time based on a solid team ethic and a sound coaching structure. Viddie has worked miracles with a squad that's been built on gambles and surprises. This year it looks like he might have - once more - added the right ingredients.

What I saw and liked was the emerging balance in the Adelaide side. The combination of flair (diamonds) and toughness (steel) exhibited by our lads.

Brightest of the diamonds is our captain, Travis Dodd. When Trav was given the captain's armband I doubt I was the only one who wondered what was going on. The intermittently brilliant player who would regularly disappear from a game for long periods hardly seemed the man to lead.

zxRoll on time and Travis now seems the perfect leader. If there's a more dangerous attacking player in the league I haven't seen them. Dodd now leads from the front and his speed and class have been added to by a passion for the team (kiss the camera Trav!) and work ethic that sees him cover a lot of ground going forward and tackling back.

Pim might not rate him but you can be sure that Reds fans do. To watch him flying down the wing then screaming back through the middle of the park to make a crucial tackle is enough to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. He may not be polished but he sparkles.

Set either side of him on Friday were Cassio and Alamao, two gifted players who have more than a touch of brilliance about them. With, respectively, Jamo and Marrone behind them we have lethal combinations down each side. And waiting in the wings we still have Shin (rough cut but promising) and the bling of Lloyd Owusu.

And the steel? Adelaide have long been accused of having a soft centre. Jonas Salley (missed but not forgotten) gave us some grunt but was prone to spray the odd pass. Now we have Adam Hughes and the team looks a touch tougher down the spine. The Og monster used to scare oppositions by looking at them. Hughes won't have the same visual effect but he's a hard-man who knows how to attack and defend. Come season's end he may be looking like the bargain of the year.

Add to that the oft ridiculed combination of Cornthwaite and Fyfe, who looked about as solid a central pairing as you could hope for. I'm a big Sterjovski fan when he plays for Australia. I rate Dadi too. On Friday Flakes and Fyfe made them look like beggars grasping at scraps. Nothing soft about our boys at the back. Plus we have the Big Red Man in waiting.

Let me also laud the strength and willingness of Cristiano who showed us all that he could run and fight. The man who makes Robbie Fowler look like an elite athlete ran himself ragged and took on two big, nasty centre-backs at once, beating them both and not going to ground. 

Should you start to think that I feel Adelaide are sorted you'd be wrong. I recognise we hardly had a shot on target on Friday and that we didn't turn possession and attack into meaningful threats. There's a way to go for us just as there is for many sides. What I like is that the 09 Reds look strong and shiny all over the park.

I think this season's going to be incredibly competitive but we'll be up for it. Diamonds and steel. Cut and thrust. It's all in the combinations.