Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson has admitted Gold Coast SUNS superstar Gary Ablett has given him “plenty of sleepless nights” ahead of his team's clash with the GC SUNS at Adelaide Oval on Sunday afternoon.

Sanderson has coached against Ablett three times since he was appointed Adelaide coach for the 2012 season with the SUNS skipper averaging 33 disposals per game against the Crows. Ablett’s most recent outing against Adelaide was in round 14 last year, resulting in a 30-disposal game that also included two goals, five tackles and nine inside 50’s for the Little Master.

"He’s hard to stop one-on-one so it will have to be a team effort," Sanderson said

"We're coming up against arguably the best player of the modern era, let alone all time. This guy is going to win his sixth MVP this year, he's going to go close to his third Brownlow – a very difficult man to stop.

"We might run different players with him at different times."

Sam Kerridge is the first tipped to go to Ablett on Sunday with the Crows tagger having claimed the scalps of Travis Boak, Kieren Jack and Leigh Montagna so far in 2014.

Kerridge was well beaten by Collingwood captain Scott Pendlebury the last time his side played at Adelaide Oval, though, and Ablett will be determined to make a significant impact on the game after a relatively quiet one by his standards last Sunday against the Western Bulldogs.

When asked about SUNS coach Guy McKenna’s comments earlier in the week about speaking to the AFL umpires regarding roughhouse tactics against Gary Ablett, Sanderson has appealed to the men in white not to overreact.

"I hope there is not an over-correction," Sanderson said.

"Gary is a bit like Patty (Dangerfield). He has had to deal with a pretty strong physical tagger for most of his entire career.

"Some weeks, the free kicks get paid and, some weeks, they don't."