Coach’s stark admission after narrowly avoiding horror loss
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks says he will “challenge” key players after club narrowly avoided a horror loss at home to Richmond on Saturday night.
Playing in wet and windy conditions, the Crows kicked two goals to one in the final term to come from behind and pinch four crucial points in the 63-54 win.
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks speaks after the win over Richmond. Fox Footy
The Tigers sit 17th on the ladder and were given no hope of winning at the Adelaide Oval, but led for much of the third quarter and may have been in a stronger position if not for inaccurate goal kicking.
Speaking after the win, Nicks wasn’t shying away from the performance.
“‘Relief’ is not the right word. We just had a brief chat as a group … geez if you play that way and win, maybe it’s a good sign. We were nowhere near our best. That was ugly tonight, and yet we still got the job done,’ Nicks told reporters.
“The conditions didn’t help in the second half it felt like it was going to be a slog, but even early, we were just not where we needed to be.
“There will be some guys that are challenged out of this one and we’ll learn from that and get better.”
Asked if the performance was more Richmond playing well than them playing poorly, Nicks felt it was a combination of their team selection and the wet conditions.
The Crows made four changes for the game, losing key defender James Borlase to injury and not having a like-for-like replacement. They also managed ruckman Lachlan McAndrew for the first time this season.
“There’s always two teams out there and one is forcing the other to do things they don’t want to do, but even in the first quarter when the conditions were favourable to good footy, we were just hurting ourselves and playing a different way,” he said.
“We had a different mix out there tonight. We’ve still got some guys playing the early parts of their career and it can happen where you don’t quite get it right and when you don’t, it can look quite unattractive.
“I imagine that’s what people thought tonight, I can’t imagine people will be keeping the VHS of that one.
“We were poor early and then the conditions completely changed and it turned into a scrap.”
In the end, their stars rose to the occasion, with Izak Rankine and Jordan Dawson combining for 71 disposals, two goals, three goal assists and 14 clearances.
With the win, Adelaide remains in the top four hunt. They sit alongside Brisbane and Melbourne on 14 wins, while Hawthorn sits narrowly ahead on 14.5 thanks to a draw earlier in the season.
Things don’t get easier for the Crows, who travel west to take on ladder-leaders Fremantle in round 23, before hosting GWS to close out the regular season.
