When Matthew Nicks' face illuminated the big screens of Adelaide Oval, the faithful went into raptures.

One year removed from the shame of a straight-sets finals exit, the seventh-year coach finally got his maiden finals victory, after his charges outlasted the Western Bulldogs in a bruising affair.

He was seen to be giving someone in the crowd a thumbs up, with his pearly whites on display for all to see.

He walked the Fox Footy broadcast through the moment, post-match.

“A young lad was just staring back at me with a huge grin on his face," Nicks said.

"He was about 14 years old, he had the double thumbs up, he had his jacket above his head. It was a good moment for our footy club and our supporters."

After a week of speculation that he would not survive another finals loss to a lower-ranked opponent, Nicks remained mindful of the importance of a cool head following the stirring win.

“As a coach it's hard, in those moments," he said.

"You've got to be mindful of the rollercoaster. The highs are amazing, the lows can be really tough. You don't want to go right to the peak, until you're holding that cup up, then you can let loose for three weeks. It was nice to smile."

At the same time, Nicks is hardly blind to just where the conjecture stemmed from.

“Coaching is a shocking job…It's frustrating, you feel almost hopeless at times," he offered.

“There's a part of me that's a realist - I know the industry, I've been in it for a long, long time, I understand the narrative that pops out at this time of year, and where I sit as a coach.

"What we've been building - unless you know the detail, unless you're actually inside the four walls, anyone can throw mud and have their view. That's okay, I don't hold a grudge there at all, but we're in a really good spot.

Loading matchup…

‘We're a hell of a lot further along than where we were last year. Getting the experience that we did last year - you're in the rooms 12 months ago, and it was gut-wrenching for our guys.

"They didn't know what they didn't know. We didn't have enough players that had (finals) experience. We build that into this year - we had guys jumping out of their skin to get out there tonight, and to make amends for how they felt last year."

The Crows head to Brisbane next, faced with the daunting prospect of facing a smarting Lions outfit who had their colours lowered in a finals boilover against the Sydney Swans, the likes of which the landscape rarely sees.

JOIN THE DISCUSSION