Matthew Nicks enjoyed his first game as Crows coach even though: ’There were periods where I found it hard to smile’
New Crows senior coach Matthew Nicks revealed after his side’s round one three-point loss to Sydney how he found his first game in charge. Did he enjoy it despite the loss? You bet he did.
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His first game as an AFL senior coach was a close, three-point loss played in the most bizarre and unprecedented circumstances, but Matthew Nicks still took time to enjoy himself.
As he watched on as his chargers squandered a three-goal quarter-time lead to then stage a last-quarter fightback at a coronavirus-impacted empty Adelaide Oval, Nicks said while the game didn’t afford him a constant smile, he certainly relished his inaugural match.
“I did enjoy it,” he said.
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“I asked our players to enjoy it, it was our message to start the game and part of that was about, we’ve got an opportunity to play a game we love playing and so if we’re not enjoying it we should be going off and doing something else and we can then bring joy to people who aren’t able to get to the game.
“It was all part of our focus for the day.
“So I enjoyed it. If I’m asking them to enjoy it, then I’ve got to enjoy it.
“There were periods where I found it hard to smile, but in the end, we’ll get better, we’ll improve and we’ve got work to do still.”
Nicks’ first post-game press conference also gave insight into the type of coach we could well grow into: Not only did he take time to individually name a number of foundation members and thank their “socially distant” fans, but he proved supportive of his players too.
Of Bryce Gibbs’ seven-disposal foray into defence he said: “I really liked Bryce’s game to be honest, for what we’re asking, I think there’s always improvement in what we’re looking for”.
Of debutant Fischer McAsey tough first assignment down back against Swan Nick Blakey, he said: “I thought he went OK … I thought he was solid. He’s going to have a long journey and he’ll continue to learn and become a fantastic footballer”.
When asked about Taylor Walker’s last kick on goal from just outside 50m when he let the final seconds of the game tick down while tying his shoelaces but sprayed the shot and the Crows went down by three points, Nicks said: “We do a lot of work on routine and getting yourself in the right mindset, focusing. It’s funny, because it’s outside 50m, most people say move it on, (but) if he was 20m out, we’d have no issue with it whatsoever.
“Tex does kick the ball 65m, so I probably won’t tell him to change.
“We’ll back him in to kick that goal.”