Nicks knows the rebuild is still a work in progress | Graham Cornes

Matthew Nicks is not going to be distracted by another close loss. He has an ambitious vision and it’s slowly taking shape, writes Graham Cornes.

It is no surprise that the Crows couldn’t win yesterday. Brisbane has been unbeatable at the Gabba this season. Better teams than Adelaide have gone north and come home with their tails between their legs.

Mark it down as an experience a young team has to have. Going to Brisbane in the middle of a southern winter is always a challenge. There is something seductively soporific about the atmosphere the minute you walk out of the airport.

The great teams can overcome it and win regardless, but Adelaide is not yet a great team. The rebuild is still a work in progress.

Matthew Nicks is not going to be distracted by yesterday’s result.

He has a vision that is slowly taking shape.

Adelaide’s finals ambitions were dealt a major blow at the Gabba on Saturday. Picture: Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images

It starts with the contest. It always starts with the contest.

It doesn’t always guarantee a win, but it makes your team very difficult to play against.

Great teams are built on defence. Nicks always intended to build his team from the backline first. Then came team defence.

Unfortunately, of the three team zones – defence, attack and midfield – it’s been Adelaide’s defence that has been hardest hit by injury.

In round 1, when the Crows played GWS on that sweltering Sydney Sunday, the three key pillars in the Crows’ backline were Tom Doedee, Jordon Butts and Nick Murray. Skipper Jordan Dawson started at halfback, maximising his beautiful left-foot disposal and a wiry young rookie by the name of Max Michalanney was making his debut.

It seemed too early to blood the Crows’ first father-son draftee, but he has been one of the revelations of Adelaide’s season.

The reliable veteran Brodie Smith was the sixth piece in the Crows’ defensive structure. Fast-forward to round 22 and only Smith and Michalanney remain in defence.

Injury has been cruel to the Crows’ defenders, with Doedee, Murray and Butts all succumbing to knee injuries. Doedee was a loss because he is one of Adelaide’s natural leaders and an instinctive intercept marker, but rumours persist he will pursue free-agency.

Nicks needs to be planning for life after Doedee in his defensive framework. Nick Murray has been the big loss. Such has been his nomadic football journey, the hulking farmer could not have imagined he would be the key figure in an AFL team’s back lines.

However, as his confidence lifted, so did his talent emerge. He has become an imposing figure back there with his ever-improving contested marking. But he’s a mature-age rookie. The last thing he needs is a knee reconstruction.

The last of the trio, Jordon Butts, is the typical stoic defender. There is no flair and no adventure in his game; just a solid reliability.

However, necessity is the mother of invention and Nicksy’s necessity has seen him throw untested players into key defensive positions.

Most interesting of those players is the big Irishman, Mark Keane. He came to the club late in the 2023 program, but there was immediately something intriguing about him.

He was big and seemed quick for his size. Plus he kicked the ball well, which shouldn’t have been so surprising. The Irish footballers seem to have a knack for adapting quickly to the oval-shaped ball.

James Borlase also waited an eternity to make a debut, but he was more than comfortable in his first AFL game last week.

Wayne Milera is another Crow to reappear after a shocking run with injury. He was much-hyped as a teenage draftee and we are just starting to see the reasons why.

He’s like a new recruit for Adelaide. In summary, the Crows’ defence, while still vulnerable against the league’s best oversized forwards, forms a good foundation for the overall team defence.

At the start of the 2023 season, Adelaide looked undermanned in the midfield. There was no big body that the best teams always have and too often they lost the centre clearance count.

The move of Dawson into the midfield changed the dynamic. He’s not the raging bull, but he oozes class, moves smoothly out of trouble and delivers the ball immaculately.

His appointment as captain, while surprising at the time to some, has been an inspired choice.

The other change to Adelaide’s midfield that has made a big difference in the last month has been the reinstatement of Matt Crouch. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The other change to Adelaide’s midfield that has made a big difference in the last month has been the reinstatement of Matt Crouch.

It’s been almost three seasons. A mysterious groin injury sidelined him for most of the 2021 season. Then last season, he couldn’t convince the coach to play him and languished in the SANFL.

He was almost last man standing when he got his recall four weeks ago, but he looks a new player, winning the ball as he always has been able, but distributing it effectively. He may have been headed for football’s scrap heap, but he surely has to be retained.

Adelaide’s midfield is still very much developing and it needs a further boost of talent and class, but it has definitely improved since that round 1 disappointment.

The Crows’ real strength is in its forward lines – but we can’t know for how much longer that can prevail.

Taylor Walker is playing the best football of his career. His critics have been silenced and every week he continues to excite the fans. At 33, he is arguably the most watchable forward in the competition.

But a football life is finite. He will need to be replaced. Yet there is still much to like about the Crows’ forwards. Darcy Fogarty is growing and looks ready to assume Walker’s mantle when he retires. Shane McAdam adds an element of spectacular unpredictability, either in the air or on the ground.

Then there is Izak Rankine. He may very well rival Tony Modra and Eddie Betts as the most exciting Crows player.

Add Riley Thilthorpe, Josh Rachelle and Luke Pedlar, who are all still developing players, and the balance and talent of that forward line still seems potent – even if Tex retires.

The Crows team that played Brisbane on Saturday night had seven changes to that which took the field in round 1. It’s an indication of the evolution of the team.

Adelaide may not make the eight this season, but realistically, who expected them to do so? Season 2023 was one in which we hoped to see continued improvement.

They certainly have improved, but with that improvement comes greater expectation. OK if they miss out this season, but there will be no excuses for next year.

A return to the finals is a must for those very loyal and patient Crows fans.