Adelaide Crows moved too early to reappoint Matthew Nicks | Paul Starick

Matthew Nicks is yet to prove he can steer the Crows to finals and should not have been re-signed yet, Paul Starick writes.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks is yet to prove himself capable of steering the club to a long-awaited premiership and has been reappointed too early.

Last Saturday’s historically dismal first half against Gold Coast starkly shows the in-game fade-outs that thwarted Adelaide’s shot at finals last year have not been eradicated.

Hopefully Nicks has his charges better prepared for Friday’s night’s first home game, against Geelong, than he did for the first game of the season.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks looks on during the round one AFL match between Gold Coast Suns and Adelaide Crows. (Photo by Matt Roberts/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )

Nicks might have rebuilt the Crows, taking them to finals contenders after the on-field implosions in the final part of Don Pyke’s reign.

But the Crows hierarchy, as the highly capable chief executive Tim Silvers effectively conceded, is taking on trust that Nicks has “developed a game plan we firmly believe will stand up to the pressures of finals footy”.

Having been a Crows member since day one – literally – I desperately hope I’m wrong and Nicks guides the club to back-to-back premierships this year and next – just like Malcolm Blight did so long ago.

By all reports, he is a decent, honourable bloke – a Ted Lasso-like character who has knitted the club together.

“We always believe,” Nicks said after the Gold Coast loss, explaining that it’s hard to win “when you put a goal on the board at half time”.

As Silvers said when announcing Nicks’ contract would be extended until the end of 2026, he “ticks all the boxes of fostering a positive, healthy environment for our players, coaches and staff”.

Matthew Nicks with his players during the Gold Coast game. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

But his key performance indicator is to win games, finals and premierships.

With this in mind, there was not much competitive pressure for an early-season contract extension, other than the board wanting to show faith in a coach in whom they believe.

Surely it would have been wiser to wait a little while, to give Nicks time to prove he can position the Crows as a finals and premiership contender.

This might not be a popular opinion among fans.

By late morning, an Advertiser poll about his extension showed 55 per cent believed he should have been re-signed, 35 per cent thought the club should have waited and another 10 per cent opposed the decision.

A straw poll among my Crows-obsessed family was similarly mixed.

“Why would they re-sign him when it’s only one game in and we already stuffed that up? Very Port Adelaide move of the Crows,” one said.

“Good, I guess,” was one lukewarm view.

“I’m glad he has helped them through some bad years and has a couple of years for the next steps,” said another.

Ultimately, the test will come in September. If the Crows are finals contenders, as many believe, then Nicks’ extension will have been a wise decision. If not, then the coach and the board will have to deal with the criticism.

Paul Starick is an Adelaide Football Club foundation member.