Adelaide Crows coach Don Pyke has sent a chilling warning to next weekend’s grand final rival — his side can improve
DON Pyke says his Adelaide Crows team is in a great position to play for the premiership, and still has room for improvement.
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CROWS coach Don Pyke has a chilling thought for his AFL grand final rival after Adelaide reinforced its status as the premiership favourite with a 10-goal smashing of Geelong at Adelaide Oval last night.
His team can play even better.
“You are never complete, but we are in a great position to play for the premiership,” said Pyke after delivering the Crows to their first AFL grand final since 1998.
“I’ve already started looking at the review of how we can improve. And making a grand final is not what it is about. We’re wanting to win a grand final.”
Adelaide’s 61-point win against Geelong before a record AFL crowd of 53,817 was built on the same strengths that made the high-scoring Crows unbeatable with a 6-0 start to the home-and-away series.
“We had an even contribution and that is when we play our best footy,” Pyke said. “They have matured as a group. They have worked hard all year.
“The midfielders are a proud group. They are not about one or two. It is not all down to (Rory) Sloane to drive it all.”
Adelaide’s path to its third grand final – on a 19-year wait after the 1997-98 double – was perfect and without drama with injury.
And as specialist forward Eddie Betts noted in tears at the end of the game, the journey has been built on incredible resilience by a football team that has refused to buckle or crumble against enormous challenges.
Adelaide will learn its grand final opponent this evening at the MCG with the Richmond-Greater Western Sydney preliminary final.
If it is Richmond, there will be a tougher battle for Crows fans to get grand final tickets – and a major fight from the Adelaide Football Club to retain its traditional hoops jumper for its third grand final. The Crows will argue as the highest-ranked team in the game it should not be forced to change to its white away jumper while the Tigers stay in their black jumper with the yellow sash.
Young Crows forward Mitch McGovern, who strained his left hamstring at training at Football Park last Saturday, is a difficult race against time to prove his fitness for the grand final.
“We will give him every chance,” Pyke said. “He is running at a reasonable level; he is doing some training. And speaking to him, he is in a positive mindframe.”
Adelaide is planning an open training session at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au