Adelaide coach Don Pyke remains positive as his team faces tightrope run to September after heavy loss to Richmond
COACH Don Pyke feels he still has plenty to work with as the Crows face an uphill battle to qualify for September’s top-eight AFL finals.
CROWS coach Don Pyke insists his Adelaide team is “on the right path” - even if it seems unlikely to extend to September’s top-eight AFL finals.
Adelaide has fallen to 7-8 - and needing six wins from its remaining seven home-and-away matches to qualify for its fourth consecutive AFL major round - after Friday night’s 47-point loss to league leader Richmond in the second grand final rematch at the MCG.
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And the nightmare of Adelaide’s rough run with injuries continues with key defender Daniel Talia having a foot injury, a recurrence of a pre-season injury.
“I went over on my foot (in the pre-season) and missed a couple of weeks,” Talia told radio FIVEaa after he hobbled through the last three terms of the match.
“I’ve carried that on and off throughout the year and at the end of the first quarter, I went to change direction and it didn’t feel quite right, so I had it heavily strapped up and couldn’t quite move for the rest of the game like I usually would.
“I’m hoping it’s nothing serious from there.
“We’ve had a couple of those this year, but we’ll see how it goes this week.
“Usually, if you can play out the game, it’s a pretty good sign it’s not a Lisfranc (strain as suffered by vice-captain Rory Sloane). So I’m just hoping it’s a sprain in the mid-foot or something along those lines. I’ll get scans this week and hopefully it’s all good.”
Pyke is remaining upbeat as Adelaide enters a must-win home clash with top-eight side Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night.
“We always knew coming out of the bye, in the position we were in (outside the top eight), that we had to play some really strong footy against good opponents,” Pyke said. “There is another test Thursday night against Geelong.
“We’re at 7-8 and in a battle to try to play finals. You get what you get.”
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Pyke noted Adelaide - by stark comparison with Richmond - had far too few contributing to the team game. This included a disappointing game from captain Taylor Walker in an Adelaide attack that managed its lowest-ever score against Richmond.
“There would be a number of guys who would not be happy with how they played,” Pyke said. “The guys coming back from injury, it is expected it is going to take a little bit of time for them to find their feet.
“We were aware that the magnets look good (on the team board with the players returning from injury), but they have to be in a spot where they’re ready to play - and play their role and perform really well.
“That will evolve as they get more games under their belts.”
Pyke explained Adelaide’s lack of productivity and efficiency on the scoreboard as a “lack of synergy” between his midfielders and forwards.
“We missed targets or fumbled opportunities which leads to the ball sweeping down the other end and you find yourself on the end of those classic 12-point plays,” Pyke said. “But we have to stay positive; we have to keep the faith.
“We know we are on the right path. And it will turn.
“We have to work out what worked for us on the night - and what areas we have to keep working on. There is enough there to work on.”
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