AFL 2023: Where it all went wrong for the Crows in Round 17 loss to Essendon
Matthew Nicks came into Sunday’s clash with Essendon with a particular goal in mind, but from the get-go Adelaide were on the back foot.
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Adelaide’s season is set to hinge on the next three weeks.
And if the Crows are able to keep their finals hopes alive in the most important run of their year, they will have to fix their contest work after they were blown away by Essendon and fell out of the top eight.
Before the first bounce at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, Adelaide senior coach Matthew Nicks said stopping the Bombers “short, uncontested marks” would be key.
“We allow that, we‘re going to find ourselves in a lot of trouble,” he said on Channel 7.
“That’s going to be our biggest goal of the game, to see if we can limit that,”
But when the game started it was at the coalface where the Crows found themselves in strife.
Bombers captain Zach Merrett caught Rory Laird holding the ball just seconds into the match and dished it off to Mason Redman for the game’s opener.
It was a taste of what was to come with the Bombers convincingly beating the Crows at the contest.
“We just didn’t start well at all,” Crows leadership group member Ben Keays said.
“They definitely jumped us and beat us in the contest all day.”
Winning the contest, the Bombers were able go forward again and again in the opening stages at Marvel Stadium.
They had a whopping 21 more inside 50s in the opening term and, by half time, they had scored 81 points.
Adelaide just couldn’t win the ball, with the Bombers leading the possession count 233 to 152.
Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton said at half-time on Fox Footy that Essendon was “just belting up the Adelaide midfield”.
It was hard to disagree as Merrett and Darcy Parish feasted, and took advantage of this domination at the contest.
They both ended up with 39 disposals, while for much of the game it seemed like captain Jordan Dawson was the only one really flying the flag for the Crows.
“There was a few other things as well like the execution of our plan and the execution of our defence,” Keays said.
“But I think contest was the most important one, they tackled really well and we weren’t able to get any clean air and drive.
“They were really good in that area and then we were on the back foot. The contest played a big part.
“It definitely felt like they had a lot of the ball and it felt like it was an even contribution from Essendon.
“I felt like everyone on the ground for them was playing their role really well.”
While they were extremely poor in the first half, Adelaide’s third quarter was good.
The Crows probably had the better of the term.
But, while the Bombers could translate their domination in the first half to the scoreboard, when they began to get the game on their terms, the Crows couldn’t.
They had 14 straight inside 50s at one stage in the third, but this just led to 2.3 on the scoreboard.
But the damage had already been done.
“We swung a few things around, we played much better but it is always hard to chase when you are behind that much and giving up such a big score,” Keays said.
“It was brave from the lads but just too much of a mountain to overcome.”
The terrain for Adelaide isn’t getting any flatter over the next couple of weeks.
For the second week in a row, it will take on a side with the same amount of wins as them when they entertain GWS at home on Saturday.
While the Crows have been impressive at Adelaide Oval, the Giants at home has been a bogey game for Nicks’ side.
And then its Melbourne at the MCG and Port Adelaide in the Showdown.
By the conclusion of the Showdown, we should know whether Adelaide is a finals team or if the drought will continue.
Keays said they were games that players wanted to play in.
“We sort of knew every game from here would be massive, and we are trying to embrace that pressure because we haven’t been in this situation for a long time,” he said.
“And that is the sort of footy you want to be playing, you want to play in games that are meaningful and have plenty on the line.
“All of these games are going to be big and they are going to be so important.
“We just have to embrace it and look forward to it.”
If Adelaide is to keep its finals chances alive over these next three weeks, it will really need to lift its contested work.
The Crows came up short in their first “eight-pointer”.
They need to change this, and quickly or their time spent out of the top eight will be getting longer.
‘Paint coming off the walls’: Nicks blasts Crows after road wreck
- Nick Smart and Jay Clark
Adelaide coach Matthews Nicks says criticism of his side’s dismal away record is “valid” after revealing the “paint was coming off the wall” in the rooms after a poor loss to Essendon on Sunday.
The Crows were punched in the mouth in the opening 30 seconds of the match and never recovered to suffer a 17-point loss to the Bombers at Marvel Stadium.
It continued the Crows’ terrible record away from Adelaide Oval, with just one win this season away from the comforts of home.
“I can’t deny that, there’s an issue there when we play away,” Nicks said when quizzed about the away record.
“We play a Collingwood game at the MCG and we bring an outstanding performance, but there is a trend there that we’ve already looked into and we’ll continue to look into and try to improve.
“These things turn quickly, and I’m confident that it will click.
“We thought our last effort was a really strong one against Collingwood, and this week dropped us back, so the commentary is valid.”
Nicks gave his side an almighty spray at quarter-time after he said his side played into Essendon’s hands in the first term.
“That was bad cop at quarter time, which I thought we probably needed at that point,” he said.
“We came with a plan today and just didn’t execute it.
“We spoke pre-game about how we wanted to play ... and at quarter-time to not play how we wanted to play and to give them what they were after, there was no surprise that we were so far behind.”
The sprays continued after the game, with Nicks revealing his side received another strong talking-to after a loss that blew a golden chance to move into the top eight.
“We have to lick our wounds on this one, but in saying all of that we don’t give up, we just never give up, and that’s what I love about this group,” Nicks said.
“We had a chat post-game already and the paint’s coming off the walls in there.
“They’re as disappointed as I am, but to be able to finish (the game) and the scoreboard was flattering, I know as the game wasn’t that close, but we don’t give up.
“Our guys keep fighting, but we got a good lesson today early.
“It’s just not where we need to be.”
In what loomed as a mini elimination final, the blistering Bombers pressured a disappointing Adelaide out of it on the way to a dominant 17.13 (115) to 15.7 (97) victory under the roof.
The Crows surprisingly allowed in-form Bombers skipper Zach Merrett to run around without much attention, and be responded by dominating with another best-afield performance.
He had 39 disposals, while Darcy Parish (39) and Andy McGrath (31) also starred. Rory Laird (31 disposals) was Adelaide’s best.
As good as the win was for Essendon, it could come at a cost in the form of a leg injury to star defender Jordan Ridley.
And the elephant in the room again was the Crows’ terrible record away from Adelaide Oval.
Adelaide was playing catch-up football from the outset, trailing by 17 at quarter-time, 37 at halftime, 38 at the last change and 18 points at the final siren.
The Crows kicked a few junk time goals but the scoreboard flattered them, with Essendon dominating the contest.
RIDLEY SCARE FOR DONS
Essendon defender Jordan Ridley has suffered a serious-looking left knee injury, leaving the backman with an anxious wait for scans.
The gun rebounding defender hyperextended his left knee in a marking contest in the third term as Essendon took total control of its clash against Adelaide.
Ridley, who won the club best-and-fairest in 2020, was in obvious pain as he crumpled to the turf and required help coming off the ground.
He came back on to the ground and tried to play on for five minutes, but was struggling with the pain and restriction of the injury, and returned to the bench.
Jordan Ridley has come off the ground after this contest.#AFLDonsCrowspic.twitter.com/41ZsBM59pP
— AFL (@AFL) July 9, 2023
Ridley was substituted out of the game late in the third term and replaced by Dylan Shiel.
The club’s medical staff will assess the damage to Ridley’s knee and send him for scans on his knee joint on Monday.
Ridley is one of the Bombers’ best defenders and would leave a hole if he missed significant time as Essendon attempts to lock in a finals berth.
The Bombers have been under-sized in defence at times this year and are eyeing North Melbourne defender Ben McKay to bolster the backline for next season.
FRENETIC OPENING UNDER THE ROOF
There was an initial early surprise with Merrett starting the game at half-forward rather than the centre square.
It produced an immediate result.
Merrett – who soon moved back to the middle – was able to lay a crunching tackle, which allowed Mason Redman to pounce off the back of the square and unleash a thumping goal from outside 50m within the first 30 seconds.
It helped set the early tone for the Bombers in what was a frenetic first term.
They had three goals on the board before Adelaide could hit the scoreboard and a combined 12 goals were kicked in the opening term.
NICKS FURIOUS AT CROWS’ OPENING
Essendon’s 7.6 (48) was its best first quarter of the season, and Crows coach Matthew Nicks was not happy at all about his side’s start and lack of defence and pressure.
At quarter-time, Nicks grabbed his players before they could split up into their respective position groups.
He gave them an almighty spray and went back for a second go before the second term started.
Nicks would have barely made it back to the coaches’ box before Essendon kicked the first goal of the second quarter, to no doubt only add to his frustration.
They would trail by 37 at the main break after a listless first half, and it didn’t get much better after that.
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