Adelaide midfielder Richard Douglas says his side will benefit from the “finals-like intensity” of the clash with reigning premiers Geelong at Simonds Stadium on Saturday.

The Crows started strongly, kicking the opening two goals of the game but missed opportunities to stretch their lead and the Cats took control midway through the term.

After slipping to a five-goal deficit early in the third quarter, Adelaide fought back to cut the margin to a mere two points at the start of the final term. But the visitors couldn’t hold on and the Cats kicked five of the last six goals of the match to run out comfortable 27-point winners.

“The second half was more to the level that we want. We missed our chances early in the first quarter and that probably came back and hurt us,” Douglas told afc.com.au after the game.

“We thought we were a good chance when we got back to within a couple of points. And to their credit, the boys didn’t stop trying but the Cats were a bit cleaner with the ball when the rain came in the last quarter and we couldn’t respond again.

“It was a real finals-type intensity. We’ll take something from the fight back, but we need to have a good look at the tape and see what we can learn from it. We’ve got to go into every game and play the way we want to play. We were probably dictated to a bit in the first half.”

The match, played in difficult conditions, was also a willing one. Combined, the teams laid a total of 145 tackles, as players threw themselves at the contest.

Full-back Daniel Talia was the most serious casualty of the tough tussle, suffering a corked thigh as a result of friendly fire from teammate Brad Symes in the final quarter. Talia is expected to recover in time for Adelaide’s twilight clash with Essendon at AAMI Stadium next Sunday.

A late withdrawal before the game, ruckman Sam Jacobs (hamstring tightness) and defender Sam Shaw (eye) should also be available for the Bombers match. Kurt Tippett (concussion) faces more testing before being cleared to resume full training and playing.

“It was a physical game and a pretty heavy deck with the rain that had fallen,” Douglas said.

“The boys are pretty tired now, but we’ve got an eight-day break, so we’ll get stuck into our recovery and look forward to Melbourne.”

Douglas was one of Adelaide’s better players in the loss to Geelong. The 2010 Club Champion collected 26 possessions, four clearances, five inside 50ms and also had two score assists, including a pin-point pass to Jason Porplyzia in the second term. This followed a 25-possession game against West Coast last weekend.

The goalkicking onballer missed seven games earlier in the season because of a hamstring injury, but said he was starting to build back to the impressive form he displayed over the pre-season.

“The key for me is a bit of continuity both in training and playing,” he said.

“I just want to keep playing my role for the team. I’ve been enjoying the bit of success we’ve had so far this year, but hopefully we’ve got bigger things to come.”