Adelaide Crows analysis: Why Crows’ biggest enemy in 2025 is themselves
Matthew Nicks is determined not to get ahead of himself this year – but a new-look Adelaide’s round 1 win serves as a warning to the rest of the competition. Here’s why.
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Adelaide has been very deliberate this pre-season to just focus solely on Round 1.
But after blowing St Kilda away at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, the challenge for the Crows will now be not getting too far ahead of Round 2.
The signs against St Kilda will only raise expectations for the Crows in 2025 – with the only caveat being that it was against an undermanned Saints – and as far as starts to the season could go for the Crows and Matthew Nicks, it was almost a perfect one.
“I wouldn’t put a ceiling on what Adelaide could do with this group,” Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy said on Fox Footy.
“If they don’t make finals it would be a massive disappointment. The only way I see that is if they get savaged with injuries.
“Just look at the talent on every line. I know they had a bad year last year, but this group is now right in the sweet spot.”
The 40,000-odd Crows fans at Adelaide Oval, plus many others watching on TV, will also be getting quite bullish about what Nicks’ side could do this year.
The Crows mojo in the forward line looked to be back, with Darcy Fogarty and Riley Thilthorpe taking advantage of a smaller Saints backline to kick four and three goals respectively.
Izak Rankine oozed class as a full-time midfielder, finishing with 28 disposals and two goals, Jordan Dawson looked back to his best with 27 and two, and Josh Rachele had 21 touches, two goals and a career high 12 score involvements after being dropped for the final game of the 2024 season for not upholding team-first standards.
Jake Soligo looks set to take another leap this year with 29 disposals and a goal in the midfield.
On top of that, new recruits Alex Neal-Bullen, Isaac Cumming and James Peatling all had their moments and all kicked goals on debut for the Crows.
Even the pre-game atmosphere at the Crows game, often criticised in recent years especially when compared to fierce rivals Port Adelaide’s, was much improved even with the Sunday 12.05pm start.
Dawson led the side out onto the ground to rock music, while before the first bounce a saxophone player on the roof of Adelaide Oval played Levels by Avicii.
MAINTAINING THE RAGE
The Crows look like they can go to some new levels of their own.
Crows veteran Rory Laird told this masthead the challenge would be not getting too far ahead of themselves.
“Obviously it was a very strong performance but Essendon in six days at the MCG and as you have seen this weekend a lot of teams are up to it and it will be the same for us next week,” he said.
Nicks, who has largely driven the don’t look past Round 1 mantra at West Lakes this pre-season, said not getting ahead of yourself was one of the hardest things to do in footy.
“We have now got to switch, we have to quickly click into Round 2 and that is one of the hardest things to do in the game is just knuckle down and get yourselves right,” he said.
“We were able to do it right throughout pre-season, stay focused on today and I am confident that our guys are maturing.
“This year we have had some really high level acquisitions, we brought in a young kid Sid Draper who showed he has a lot of potential to be a really strong player in this league.
“So with those you have to be confident and back your group in but our challenge is can we do it each week.
“It is a great spot to start, we have plenty games to come and as we have seen over time it is hard to do.”
On paper it looks like the Crows have everything required to do this, and pleasingly for Nicks nearly all his big positional moves are paying off right now.
If Rankine can stay on the park then he can challenge for All-Australian honours.
Dawson showed when he does go forward his contested marking is a big weapon for the Crows.
“I think you are seeing the emergence of him (Dawson) as a third tall forward as well,” Crows board member Mark Ricciuto said.
“He is a great overhead mark.”
DANGEROUS FORWARD LINE
Last year for a myriad of reasons the Crows’ forwards were nowhere near the offensive weapon they were in 2023.
But against the Saints they consistently looked dangerous with the tall trio of Taylor Walker, Fogarty and Thilthorpe competing well throughout.
“We were really confident, that was probably off the back of the two games we had, we were confident in our list, our line-up and ability to come out and execute,” Laird said.
“I think when you mix a lot of the guys through such as Isaac Cumming and Izak Rankine through the midfield, Jordy Dawson can switch in and out I think it is a bit of cohesiveness going forward and I think we were a bit more damaging with the ball.
“I think we have a lot of tall boys up there but Dan Curtin went up the ground a little bit and we got three smaller guys as well and it worked well so it was a good balance.”
Nicks said he was pleased with how the forward line looked.
“When you talk about pressure, if our keys are consistently giving us a contest in the air the worst case scenario is the ball hits the deck,” he said.
“And the Saints have some elite defenders, (Callum) Wilkie is one of the best intercept defenders in the competition and Riley is competing with Tex and Fog, Dan Curtin as well, they are getting the ball to ground and getting our smalls involved.
“So we can bring that pressure and I thought that was key.”
THE COMEBACK KID
After Nicks copped it from all angles for his decision to drop Rachele for the final game of last season the young gun showed that there might have been some method to what Crows fans at the time thought was madness.
Rachele nearly had his best game from a statistical standpoint – he missed one shot at goal that you would have banked him on scoring normally.
But it wasn’t just that which caught Nicks’ eye.
“Really pleased for Josh, again he is a beneficiary of what others are doing and when we are competing and bringing the ball down and giving Josh the chance to do what he does best,” he said.
“It wasn’t about goals, it was about assists and being in the right spot at the right time and sharing the ball.
“Alex Neal-Bullen and Ben Keays are doing the same thing. But for Josh I thought he stood out, especially in the first half.”
Down the other end of the ground Laird himself finished with 29 disposals, seven marks and four tackles as he returned to defence.
He had some shaky moments against Brisbane in the Crows’ pre-season game, but against the Saints he added a cool-head to the Adelaide backline.
“It is a bit different, a lot more running actually surprisingly and the guys are pretty quick there,” he said of the shift back.
“I am not the quickest so I am just trying to read the play down there but today was a good day.
“I think as you see our backline is super young and there is not a lot of experience so just to be able to have that connection with the mids and the backs and a bit of experience down there.
“I am just trying to help out any way I can.”
Originally published as Adelaide Crows analysis: Why Crows’ biggest enemy in 2025 is themselves
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