Matthew Nicks struggled to find the words after Friday night's semi-final loss to Hawthorn, putting an end to the 2025 season in straight sets.
Adelaide rose from 15th to the minor premiership in just 12 months, but were unable to convert their home-and-away dominance to anything meaningful as they returned to the finals for the first time since the 2017 grand final obliteration.
Collingwood got ahold of the Crows at the Adelaide Oval last week, with the inexperienced Nicks side unable to throw a punch at the 2023 premiers. The story was the same against the Hawks.
"There was a patch during the year where, you know, even as a group we were coming in and surprised at the level we had. Everything was clicking. I think anyone who's been in the game long enough knows that that doesn't necessarily last an entire season," Nicks said post-game.
"So we knew we'd have our challenge with that. What we were really pleased with, we just found a way when the form wasn't quite there. Now, I think, again, looking at finals footy, you're going to have to play to a certain level."
The sheer pressure of September football, combined with the arrivals of powerhouse Victorian clubs and their huge fan bases, was ultimately too much for the Crows players to handle, with only seven players having finals experience.
"Tonight, some of our fundamentals were at a level that we just, we can't explain that level. You know, dropping marks, missing kicks," continued Nicks.
"Is it pressure? Is it expectation? Is it opposition? Is it perceived pressure that you put on yourself? The only way we'll know that is if I keep trying to show up here and rock up and be in this position again, give ourselves another crack at it.
"We discussed pretty much what we're talking through now. I wanted to make sure our group knew that there were a lot of positives to come out of this season.
"But the reality of it is, and our players, they agreed... there's work to do. We've got a lot of work to do."
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