Crow Sam Jacobs is preparing for his toughest challenge up against the in-form ruckman of the competition, North Melbourne’s Todd Goldstein.

An All-Australian nominee in 2011, Goldstein leads the AFL in hit-outs (721) and ranks second in hit-outs to advantage (197). Goldstein got the better of Adelaide’s lead ruckman when the pair did battle at Etihad Stadium in Round Nine, and Jacobs said he was looking forward to the rematch on Sunday.

“I think pretty much every club has an in-form ruckman this year, but Goldstein has been the pick of the ruckmen for me,” Jacobs told FIVEaa on Tuesday night.

“(I’ve been impressed with) the way he leads his midfield and he’s pretty much done it on his own.

“It’s great because I’ve got him again this week.”

By his own admission, Jacobs has struggled to recapture his near-All Australian form of 2012. The 25-year-old is still winning his share of the hit-outs – ranked fourth in the League in hit-outs (494) and hit-outs to advantage (137). But Jacobs believes he – like the team in general – has been about “5 – 10 per cent off” compared to last season.

“If I knew why, I’d fix it straight away,” Jacobs said.

“I had a slowish start to the year and was probably a bit slow adjusting to the ruck rule. The umpires haven’t been as hard on that as I thought they would’ve been. At times on Sunday, Matt Lobbe and I were standing next to each other and nothing was done.

“I haven’t missed a session all year, so fitness isn’t an issue. Maybe, I could’ve played games earlier in the pre-season though. I probably tried to take on too much early. There have been a lot of changes this year. We lost Kurt Tippett and then with Tex going down early, Josh Jenkins has been needed more up forward and I’ve played more time.

“They are only little things, but they all add up. At the end of the day, it’s come back to me and I haven’t been able to execute consistently. I’ve been building but haven’t got to the level I wanted to.”

The last time Adelaide and North Melbourne met, the Crows came from being five goals down with five minutes to play in the last quarter to snatch victory with a goal to Jared Petrenko in the dying seconds.

Adelaide was on the other end of a thrilling contest against Port Adelaide last weekend, giving up a 20-point final-quarter lead to go down by four points. The Crows have now lost four games this season by a margin of 1-10 points – only the Kangaroos (five) have lost more close matches.

“It was a tough pill to swallow. I was just lying on the couch on Monday afternoon … thinking about what happened. You think of what you could’ve done better, but unfortunately you don’t get the chance to go back and fix it,” Jacobs said.

“I feel so bad for our supporters, especially those who came to the game. We folded late in the last quarter, but we fell away in the second quarter as well, so it’s been a bit of a common trend that we haven’t been able to finish quarters right off and (scores against during) red time is really hurting us.

“We were in (winning) positions against Fremantle and Port Adelaide twice this year, and against Hawthorn, Collingwood and West Coast. We even gave Geelong a chance at the end (in Round 17). If they didn’t kick those two points it could’ve been another tragic finish.

“We’ve got to make sure we get better at closing games out. One thing we didn’t do Sunday was retain the footy and really take time off the clock. It (the result) was pretty tough to take, but the sun still comes up and we’ve got the Kangaroos this week and that’s what we’ve got to look forward to.”

The heartbreaking loss dashed Adelaide’s hopes of finishing in the final eight. But Jacobs said it was imperative his team played out the season.

“Things can go two ways now, we can keep building and generate momentum going into the pre-season or guys can turn up their toes,” Jacobs said.

“We’re looking forward to the Kangaroos and building for the rest of the year. We can’t live on seeing what happens to Essendon (and ninth spot).

“No one wants to go into a pre-season having lost the last four games (of the previous season).”