Crows coach narrows focus in pursuit of AFL scalp
Following a disappointing loss in the first match of Gather Round, Crows’ coach Matthew Nicks says the club won’t knock off heavyweight sides until they stop leaking so many points.
Nicks is desperate to claim a big scalp in the Crow’s finals pursuit – just not the sort that first springs to mind.
Adelaide have another chance to prove their finals credentials in a round-six home clash with premiership contenders GWS.
And while he would love to knock off the Giants, Nicks has a narrower focus.
“We’ve got to work on the scores against,” he said after Adelaide’s disappointing 19-point loss to Geelong on Thursday night.
“That will be a big scalp for us.”
You might like
The free-scoring Crows are leaking at the other end, giving up an average of 92 points per game in a 3-2 start to the year.
It included a season-worst tally in the 18.11 (119) to 15.10 (100) defeat to the Cats in the Gather Round opener.
"We got a lot wrong in that last quarter."
— AFL (@AFL) April 10, 2025
Hear from Matthew Nicks following the Crows' loss to Geelong: https://t.co/k4dHbhOLK4#AFLCrowsCats pic.twitter.com/SNA6mFCwZv
Stay informed, daily
“It’s a combination of things, unfortunately, otherwise we’d just nail it,” Nicks said.
“At the moment we’re not really keeping the ball in our front half, so we’re spending a bit of time under pressure, and then there’s an execution piece to that as well.
“When the game’s not necessarily going our way and not on our terms we seem to make poor decisions and/or execution.
“We turned the ball over tonight in some spots where it’s just not defendable.”
The Crows have wobbled after opening the season with a three straight wins, but can make a statement against GWS at Adelaide Oval on Saturday next week.
They almost delivered one against Geelong, leading by 30 points during the second quarter and heading into the final term eight points to the good.
But they were overrun when the game was on the line.
“As far as beating a side that’s going to be there in September, yeah, we’re always going into those games wanting to put on our best performance,” Nicks said.
“It looked tonight like we were on track and then we’ve let ourselves down for a quarter of footy.
“In the end the better team won on the night. They put us away.”
It comes after the AFL conceded an umpiring mistake cost the Crows a chance to win their round four clash against Gold Coast , an admission met with a collective shrug by Adelaide officials and players.
