'They choked': Matthew Lloyd slams Adelaide's 'safe' finals approach after straight sets exit
Matthew Lloyd did not mince his words about Adelaide's straight-sets finals exit, saying the Crows "played not to lose, rather than attacking to win".
On Friday night, Hawthorn stunned the minor premiers, ending their season and breaking a 40-year record.
The Hawks' emphatic 14.17 (101) to 10.7 (67) victory marked the first time since 1983 that the AFL's minor premiers are out before the preliminary finals.
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Crows captain Jordan Dawson leads his team off the field after their semi-final defeat by the Hawks. Sarah Reed/ AFL Photos via Getty Images
The result also means the Hawks are the first eighth-placed team ever to knock off the ladder leaders in the finals.
With successive losses to Collingwood and Hawthorn at home, Adelaide's fairytale season soon turned into a nightmare.
Speaking on Nine's AFL Sunday Footy Show, Lloyd believed the Crows collapsed under the pressure of the finals by failing to produce their best football when it mattered most.
"I do believe they choked," he said.
"They didn't handle themselves well.
"They didn't bring their best, which got them on top of the ladder."
Adelaide legend Rory Sloane agreed that the Crows did not play their usual game style.
"That's what's disappointed them the most is that they never actually brought their game style, that they played the whole year, into a finals campaign," he said.
"And if you lose in a finals campaign by playing the footy you know that works, you can accept that, and that's what the boys will probably struggle with the most."
Lloyd explained the Crows' hesitant ball movement showed they played not to lose rather than to attack the game to win.
In Adelaide's 24-point qualifying final loss to Collingwood, the first of its two finals losses, the hosts had 70 entries, but their ball movement was slow, nullifying any efforts to go forward.
"It allowed Darcy Moore to play the game of his life; it allowed [Brayden] Maynard and [Isaac] Quaynor to set up behind the ball," Lloyd said.
Adelaide's Riley Thilthorpe marks in front of Collingwood's Billy Frampton during their qualifying final. AFL Photos via Getty Images
Lloyd thought the Crows would change their approach for the Hawks, with the mindset of, "OK, now it's a knockout final".
However, this was not the case.
Lloyd referred to vision of key forward Darcy Fogarty, whose slow ball movement in the first quarter failed to put any pressure on the opposition despite the Crows trailing by 13 points.
"Take that kick, have a crack, Fogarty," Lloyd said
"You've got to go."
Lloyd had hoped Adelaide would eventually "pull the trigger" and act with some urgency, but they never did.
Hames Worpel of the Hawks competes with Darcy Fogarty of the Crows. James Elsby/ AFL Photos via Getty Images
"They're not going anywhere with the footy, so they played a safe, safe finals series," he said.
This was in stark contrast to Hawthorn, who played with dare and excitement.
Lloyd suggested that, unlike Adelaide, Hawthorn had to play with more flair because it did not have a tall forward option.
"They don't have a colossus like Riley Thilthorpe in their forward line, so they've got to go quick to allow for wingers to drift forward," he said.
"This is Hawthorn and Sam Mitchell saying, 'Play with dare, run, take the game on, overlap'. It encourages everyone around you to run and carry."
