Crows coach looks to midfield collapse for “disappointing” home finals loss

After an enthralling hour of football, it appeared the second half between the Adelaide Crows and Collingwood Magpies on Thursday night would continue to be a gripping arm wrestle, with just a goal separating the two sides at the main break.

But in the blink of an eye, a six-point Collingwood lead quadrupled and suddenly, the Crows were in dire straits.

Two missed goal opportunities from Adelaide saw the Magpies take advantage of their slip up, tallying two more majors within 90 seconds of each other to extend their lead to what was ultimately a game-high 35 points.

So, what caused Adelaide's sudden collapse? Senior coach Matthew Nicks thinks the problem was clear - and can be resolved by next week's semi-final.

"[Collingwood] had momentum out of the centre and it was one of those patches where we got it wrong at centre bounce and then weren't able to hold up behind the ball," Nicks said post-game.

"We've been so good behind the ball all year. We've probably put our group at times under too much pressure and unfortunately, the dam wall broke for that period of time.

"Four, five goals and that's the game. We then struggled to find our way back in and Collingwood set up the field accordingly and played the game on their terms.

"A really, really disappointing patch but it's one we'll look to move on from as soon as we can and play four quarters next week."

Nicks is of course referencing Collingwood's midfield dominance that stunned the Crows to begin the second half, with the side kicking two goals from four centre bounce clearances in the first 15 minutes of the third quarter.

The effort was led by Ned Long, who racked up three of Collingwood's 11 clearances for the quarter, with veteran Steele Sidebottom and forward star Jordan De Goey reaping the benefits early, combining for three goals in the first six minutes after half time.

The flurry of goals was a result of the Magpies' relentless pressure around the contest, with Nicks highlighting how it caused Adelaide to also be ineffective once in possession.

"We lacked composure with the ball in hand today. There was times where we hacked it forward and maybe we didn't need to," Nicks said.

"We had the opportunity to use the ball and challenge our opponents. They're very good at shaping the ground, Collingwood. Holding their position and looks like they're playing extras behind the ball but they're just holding their shape.

"We just hacked the ball into that on a number of occasions.

"We were also beaten in the contest too many times, so when we did have an even number ahead of the ball, they out-marked us."

Nicks admitted the eventual tactical adjustments to stem the bleeding were effective and helped Adelaide mount a small comeback, but ultimately, the damage had already been done.

"What we didn't want to do is open the floodgates and let it continue. We'll always try something and try and inject something a little different," Nicks said.

"We know Laird and the experience he has, let's get an experienced head around there and have a crack... We were looking for something there to change momentum.

"In the end, we were able to do that but not enough. The damage was done."

However, Nicks is hopeful that the experience of Thursday night will provide the Crows with the ability to prevent a collapse like that occurring again.

"We've been able to regroup reasonably quickly all year. Get back to process, what does the week look like," Nicks said.

"And now, we've all got finals experience under our belt. Be it a small amount, but it's going to help."

Adelaide will take on the winner of the GWS-Hawthorn elimination final next week at Adelaide Oval in a win-or-go-home semi-final showdown.