"I thought we lost."
Those were the words of a disappointed Matthew Nicks, following the Crows' sluggish nine-point win over the lowly West Coast Eagles on Sunday.
A gracious Nicks was full of praise for the opposition and credited the West Coast Eagles as the "better side on the day". The Adelaide coach did, however, say that "still winning is a good sign of where we are at".
It took a herculean effort from captain Jordan Dawson, who led from the front with a 26-disposal, best-on-ground performance.
The Adelaide coach was also thankful for the efforts of Izak Rankine, who chipped in with 23 disposals and a goal, and young gun Zac Taylor, 20 possessions and a goal.
"I like Jordan a lot," said Nicks. "Izak Rankine as well. I thought Izak, you know, to his credit, wasn't the best first half, but we didn't really give him many opportunities, we didn't give our forwards a lot of opportunity."
Crows fans collectively held their breath when Riley Thilthorpe went down with an injury, but he was still able to play out the game and kick two crucial goals down the stretch of the game.
Nicks concedes he was "worried for a second", but assured Crows fans there are no major concerns.
"We were worried that he'd done something to his shoulder, but after a minute or so of recovering, he was fine," said Nicks.
The Crows have now officially qualified for the finals for the first time since 2017, and are in the box seat to become minor premiers for the third time in their history, following 2005 and 2017.
Nicks says he "can't wait" for the blockbuster clash with the third-placed Collingwood Magpies looming on Saturday Night, but he knows his side has a lot to get right ahead of the game.
The top-of-the-ladder team should see forward veteran Taylor Walker come back into the side, as they look to solidify a home qualifying final.
