Adelaide coach Don Pyke has reshaped his Crows from an attacking force in 2017 to the miserly outfit of 2019

Adelaide is building form on the back of a new miserly game plan as coach Don Pyke notes “the game has changed” while Power coach Ken Hinkley points to a lack of finishing skill for his team’s latest defeat.

• Match report: Showdown spirit helps Crows turn off Power
• Match centre: All the stats and SuperCoach scores
• Analysis: Port Adelaide lacks scoring power

Adelaide is building ominous form from its first four-game winning streak since July 2017 with another cracking Showdown triumph against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

But Crows coach Don Pyke, who extended his Showdown win-loss record to 6-1 with the 20-point win against the Power, says he is working a very different Adelaide to the high-scoring unit that blitzed to the 2017 AFL grand final.

“The game has changed,” says Pyke — and he has adapted the Crows to emphasise stronger defensive actions and less of the high-speed, long-kicking game that defined the 2017 minor premier.

“And we have had to adapt.”

Adelaide’s winning 88-point tally on Saturday night — with an accurate 13.10 — marks the Crows’ lowest score in Pyke’s seven Showdowns. It is the lowest score for an Adelaide win since Showdown 24 in 2008 at Football Park where the Crows kicked 85 points.

And on a statistical sheet that shows the Crows lost clearances 36-53 and conceded 69 inside-50s to Port Adelaide, Pyke noted the true measure of his new-look Adelaide is with the 94 tackles.

Taylor Walker of the Crows celebrates with fans after Saturday’s Showdown win at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

“Our tackling was a highlight,” Pyke said. “We really got at them — and pressured them really well.”

After leading by 44 points early in the last term, Adelaide was on the edge with just a 12-point buffer in time-on.

“We found a way to win,” Pyke said. “It was pretty even all night. But we took our opportunities, particularly in front of goal, more so than they did.

Alex Keath took home the Showdown Medal with 26 disposals and five marks.

A brick wall in defence tonight. #AFLPowerCrows pic.twitter.com/O8s8XifKJT

— AFL (@AFL) May 11, 2019

“Our defenders were outstanding,” added Pyke, sitting next to Crows key defender Aelx Keath who won the Showdown Medal as best-afield. “They were very good over the course of the whole night (while conceding just two goals to a key Port Adelaide forward — Dougal Howard, after he was moved from defence in the third term).”

Adelaide reported two injuries last night as the attention turned to seeking to become the first visiting team to beat Brisbane at the Gabba this season. Midfielder Matt Crouch did not finish the game, taking to the bench early in the third term, with a corked hip.

Key defender Daniel Talia left the ground with a nose injury.

The Power was restricted to just 3.12 at three-quarter-time but stormed home with six goals to three in the final quarter to go down by 20 points to the Crows.

Adelaide Crows assistant coach Scott Camporeale and senior coach Don Pyke on Saturday night. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

“It was definitely a territory battle and we had plenty of opportunities to put scoreboard pressure on, but to their credit they finished a couple of times better than we were capable of,” Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said.

“We had still had good opportunities, repeat entry after repeat entry, we had plenty of opportunities but just couldn’t find a way to finish the front part of the game.

“I thought Adelaide defended really well, they held their shape really strongly behind the ball and we’re aware of that. But as you see in the last quarter if you can put them under some speed of ball they’re like any team they can be a little bit shaky.

“(In the last quarter) you get a little bit of momentum and you’re able to hit the scoreboard and that’s what builds your momentum — if you’re missing or hitting the post or getting a fingertip going over the line or a 50m penalty which puts them on the line — those things just make a significant difference in a tough game.”

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