Adelaide Crows coach Matthew Nicks’ admission after Eagles loss

Matthew Nicks is aware of Adelaide’s potential but says players must become better at turning up for their teammates in tight matches.

The Crows went blow for blow with the Eagles in the first half, but West Coast began to pull away in the second. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

Matthew Nicks still has a clear vision of how he wants Adelaide to play, but the frustrated coach concedes his side is a long way off that ideal after Sunday’s 42-point loss to West Coast.

On the heels of a historic low score in an embarrassing loss to Essendon, the Crows at least showed greater intensity to trail by three points early in the third quarter at Adelaide Oval.

But the home side wilted in the face of a second-half challenge by the Eagles, who went on to score a 14.14 (98) to 8.8 (56) win that consigned 16th-placed Adelaide to a 5-12 win-loss record.

“We’re just too far off our best,” Nicks said.

“Our best gets us up there right in the contest and gives us a chance to beat anyone, but we are too far off our best as individuals and as a team, more importantly.

“We’re just not quite connecting up at the moment.

“With respect, we probably came in at halftime and felt like we kept them in it.

“Then in the second half, for whatever reason, we were challenged and we dropped away.

“That’s the most disappointing part for our group at the moment – the brand that we’d like to be known for isn’t there consistently.”

The Eagles got the win in Nic Naitanui’s 200th game. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Nicks bemoaned a lack of defensive awareness and pressure in the back half that gifted the opposition goals from stoppages, with Elliot Yeo’s effort to waltz into an open goal just before halftime a prime example.

“The parts that take no talent, we didn’t get those right,” he said.

“You don’t need talent, you don’t need to be an elite footballer to stand in a spot where your teammates need you.

“That’s why we’re all hurting.

“That is what we need to get to the bottom of.”

A surprise 3-1 start to the season and a shock win over high-flyers Melbourne are distant memories for Crows fans, whose side has now lost 11 of its past 13 games.

Nicks couldn’t pinpoint reasons for the drop-off in the aftermath of his team’s latest disappointment but warned underperforming players wouldn’t escape scrutiny at the selection table as he searched for answers.

“Confidence? Form? I can’t give you the exact word for it, but we’re just straying away from what it is that we’ve done well for the majority of this year,” he said.

“And that hurts when you sit around post-game as a group.

“It was unacceptable as far as the way that we want to play our football, so we have to get better in that space.

“We can’t allow for individuals to not play the way the team needs.”

Emerging defender Nick Murray was subbed out of the game in the last quarter after he fell on his back after an attempted high spoil and is set to miss next week’s clash with the Western Bulldogs due to concussion protocols.

Adam Simpson admitted to being disappointed with his side following losses to North, Sydney and the Bulldogs so was pleased to return to the winner’s circle. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Captain’s knock

West Coast coach Adam Simpson is quietly confident Luke Shuey’s latest injury setback won’t sideline the skipper for long, if at all.

Shuey was subbed out of Sunday’s 42-point win over the Crows at Adelaide Oval with a sore calf in the last quarter.

It was the 31-year-old’s fourth game back from a major hamstring injury that had sidelined since round three.

“He’s got calf awareness, so we didn’t want to take a risk,” Simpson said.

“At this stage, we don’t know. It could be nothing, but we’re holding out hope.

“It’s definitely minor, no matter what, but because of his history we didn’t want to take a risk.

“I can’t tell you what’s going to happen, but he was aware of it.

“Maybe he’s over-sensitive and maybe he’s not but we’ll hope for the best.”

The win snapped a run of three losses that had many doubting the Eagles’ finals credentials.

Simpson’s side will finish the round in seventh spot, with the coach still unsure where his team sits in the premiership pecking order.

“I don’t think we’re too far away and sometimes I think we’ve got a bit of work to do,” he said.

“I think there’s an opportunity for growth in the next five weeks, no matter what. We’ll keep exploring our list with our younger players and we’ll keep trying to get our best players to play well.

“We’re in the eight, we’re here to have a swing as well, but we’ll try to be balanced.

“There was a little bit of justified criticism that you’ve got to accept but you can’t go too deep on that … we think we can play better than we are now.

“I think our best is good enough for anyone and our worst is as bad as anyone.”

Simpson lauded the efforts of Jamie Cripps, who kicked a career-best five goals to help Nic Naitanui celebrate a win in his 200th game.

The Eagles improved to a 9-8 win-loss record without Josh Kennedy, who was a late withdrawal with a calf complaint.

“He was close … it was a six-day break and we had to name the squad before main training,” Simpson said.

“There were some question marks but I reckon we could’ve rolled him out if we had to.

“He was keen, especially with it being Nic’s 200th, but in the end I think we made the right call.

“We won a game, we didn’t use him, and he should be right for next week.”