AFL 2023: Adelaide Crows can take plenty of positives from close loss to Collingwood

The Adelaide Crows may have lost the game, but they won plenty of respect against Collingwood – and more importantly proved that they can find form away from home.

The Crows dejected after losing to Collingwood. Picture: Getty

On paper Adelaide’s poor away record continued.

But you’d imagine the Crows would be almost satisfied with the two-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG, if they could be with a defeat.

“They way they played in that second half was huge, Matthew Nicks will have plenty of positives to give to his team,” former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said on Fox Footy.

While the Crows have been red-hot at Adelaide Oval this year, they’ve largely failed to get close to these heights on the road in 2023.

Even their only win outside of SA was a scrappy one against Hawthorn in Tasmania, where the Crows stole it with Darcy Fogarty’s late, late goal.

But on Sunday against arguably the benchmark of the competition in Collingwood, the Crows brought their Adelaide Oval footy to the MCG.

Crows star Rory Laird said it showed they could go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the competition.

Rory Laird of the Crows and Nick Daicos of the Magpies compete for the ball. Picture: Getty Images

“I think especially if you take a snapshot of the third quarter you get a picture of Adelaide Crows’ football,” he said.

“And those first 10 minutes of the first quarter and in the fourth it was a bit of a seesaw.

“So all in all it was probably a good representation of what we have done at Adelaide Oval.”

Going into the game Nicks said the start would be crucial, especially after the last meeting between the two.

And the Crows came out firing in the first quarter, not looking like a side that struggles on the road.

While they couldn’t translate their dominance onto the scoreboard, the Crows were well and truly on top of the Pies.

They had seven straight inside 50s, for just the three points, with the Pies unable to get out of their defensive half.

“They keep getting this game in their half, I think that is what Matthew Nicks will be thrilled with they have been able to stop Collingwood in their forward half on a number of occasions,” Melbourne great Garry Lyon said.

Isak Rankin of the Crows celebrates after kicking a third quarter goal. Picture: Michael Klein

But as they found out in Round 7 when the Pies somehow triumphed by a point at Adelaide Oval, you need to take your chances against Collingwood.

There’s a reason why the Pies are the favourites to win the flag, and they showed this in spades with a dominant second quarter to get on top of the Crows and take a 27-point lead into halftime.

Key in this was the way the Pies went about moving the ball.

Often they would look to go laterally at first, then go forward once the Crows defence was out of position and were able to cut right through them.

Before the game the Crows were called “Collingwood lite”.

And after a quarter that Nicks said the Crows were “a bit over the shop at the moment”, Adelaide did its best Collingwood impression in the third.

With Nicks looking for a “bit of spunk” the Crows produced one of the best quarters of footy by any team this season.

They kicked seven goals to the Pies zero as they roared back into the match and brought their Adelaide Oval footy well and truly to the MCG.

Sidelined Crow Paul Seedsman tweeted that it was the “most important quarter of footy we’ve played all year”.

“Against a quality opposition, on the road, at the home of footy, and after a deficit,” he wrote.

Laird said it was a focus on composure that resulted in the blistering third term by the Crows.

“We thought we needed a bit more composure with the footy,” he said.

Most important quarter of footy we’ve played all year. Against a quality opposition, on the road, at the home of footy, and after a deficit. Daws been incredible! ⭐️ #AFLPiesCrows

— Paul Seedsman (@paulseed40) June 25, 2023

“I think in the second quarter we kicked it to their numbers a fair bit. But it comes on the back of winning contest and stoppage, we were able to use our handballs and run coming off that so that was the main change.

“We couldn’t really stop them at times, we weren’t able to execute and they punished us off that.

“We were able to match it with them at the contest and then able to use that streamline, handball-happy footy and get their defence out of shape.”

But it is rare that the original isn’t better and the Pies showed why they are the master of the fourth quarter and the comeback with another thrilling win.

But the Crows could and perhaps should take at least a positive or two out of how they went against the Pies on Sunday.

Taylor Walker of the Crows screens in frustration after the siren. Picture: Michael Klein

“We can match it with these top sides and if we get the process right that we can do it not just at Adelaide Oval,” Laird said.

“It’s a matter of doing this each week now.”

The Crows have a golden opportunity to return to the winners list when they take on the struggling North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

A win over the Roos should be enough for them to remain in the top eight on percentage.

But it is getting tighter and tighter in the race for finals.

Geelong, Fremantle and Gold Coast are now level on points with the Crows, Richmond are just two points behind and Sydney are a win behind after their percentage-boosting win over the hapless West Coast.

Five games at Adelaide Oval to finish the season, plus the Eagles in Perth in the final game of the season gives the Crows a very good chance to break their finals drought.

The way they played against the Pies should give them confidence when they take on Essendon at Marvel Stadium in Round 17, Melbourne at the MCG in Round 19 and even a trip to the Gabba to face Brisbane in Round 22.

If the Crows can replicate what they did in the third quarter at the MCG against Collingwood, then their away blues should end soon.

Mason Cox of the Magpies runs at Josh Worrell of the Crows after kicking a goal. Picture: Michael Klein

‘FEELING THE PAIN’: CROWS SHATTERED AFTER TOUGHEST EVER LOSS

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks described his team’s agonising two-point loss to premiership favourites Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday as the most painful defeat of his four-year tenure with the Crows.

After falling 34 points behind late in the second term, Adelaide exploded to kick the next eight goals and lead by 14 nearing three-quarter time.

However, as they have done so often in the past 15 months, the Magpies finished strongly to steal another thrilling win from the jaws of defeat in similar fashion to their one-point triumph against the Crows in Round 7.

“I thought we showed what we’re about, I thought we showed the team we are today,” Nicks said post-match.

“We showed some grit when we got challenged and we were behind. When we play aggressive footy, we are a really good side to watch. I would say we probably put maybe two-and-a-half to three quarters out there today.

“To our opposition’s credit, though, they’re where they are for a reason, and you’ve got to put four quarters out.

“It’s a hard one. We are hurting at the moment. That’s the most we’ve felt the pain post a loss, but you’ve got to butter up and get ready to go next week.”

The Crows dejected after losing to Collingwood. Picture: Getty

Adelaide’s worrying road record might’ve worsened to 1-5 this year, but Nicks believed his team’s latest effort proved they are capable of performing away from home.

“It’s fair the commentary around our away record, if you’re talking win-loss, it’s not good,” Nicks said.

“Maybe this is part of our journey, maybe the education we’re going through is part of what we need to go through.

“But everyone who was in the stadium today (would’ve thought) that was a battle. That was good footy.

“And so our guys, after five or 10 minutes of wanting to kick the cat, will move on ... and know we can play a really high level of footy and take it up to the best teams in the comp.

“A lot of teams would lie down in that moment when this stadium erupts, and there’s not many teams that have support like they do. It was loud, it was challenging.”

Nicks was especially pleased with his team’s response in the third quarter when they piled on 7.1 to three behinds, after only managing 2.8 in the first half.

Rory Laird of the Crows gets a handball away. Picture: Michael Klein

“That third quarter of footy is the template for us and it’s amazing what happens when you play that footy, it’s a little quieter in this stadium,” he said.

“Today the challenge was bigger, today the challenge was the top side in the comp – they’re the form team playing in front of their home crowd and we were under a lot of pressure.”

But as his side clings onto eighth spot by just 0.9 per cent ahead of ninth-placed Geelong with a 7-7 record, Nicks knows they will “have to” defy their road record and win at least one of their last four away games to strengthen their finals bid.

Meanwhile, after starting six of his eight games this year as the sub, including his last three, Ned McHenry is closing in on a promotion to the starting 22 after his strong performance in the second half against the Magpies.

McHenry came on for Nick Murray (hamstring) and finished with 16 disposals and five marks from just 48 per cent game time.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Nicks said. Nicks was hopeful scans would reveal Murray’s injury was just a knock rather than a strain or a tear.

Originally published as AFL 2023: Adelaide Crows can take plenty of positives from close loss to Collingwood