Adelaide Senior Coach Matthew Nicks says the Crows must earn the right to play finals in 2024, as he expects the competition to be as even as ever.
The Crows will open their campaign against Gold Coast this Saturday night and will be aiming to feature in the major round for the first time since 2017.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Nicks said the Club was not shying away from making the top eight this season but was aware it was not going to be an easy feat, with 17 other teams chasing the same goal.
“There is a lot of expectation out there, as there should be,” Nicks said.
“We are coming off a year where we are confident that we improved, we’re confident that we are going to do that again.
“We have expectations of ourselves, but at the same time we’ve got to earn the right to play finals footy.
“We’ve seen how even the competition is, we talk about a draw being hard, there are no easy games, you’ve got to earn the right to get in there, that’s where we are at the moment.”
The Crows will release their Round One team on Thursday night and Nicks said veteran forward Taylor Walker would be given every opportunity to prove his fitness, as he continued to deal with a back injury that had kept him on light training duties.
“He (Walker) will get out and move around (this morning), we’ll get a bit more of a gauge of that, but we might have to leave that one until nearly a game day decision,” Nicks said.
“In the end we will consult, we will talk through it, but he will make that decision on whether he will make the team better on the weekend and we will leave that one really in his hands.
“I think he is confident that he’s going to be OK, but you just never know with these things how they recover.
“At the moment I am reasonably confident that he will get himself right, I know he is desperate to play.”
The Suns kicked off their season last weekend, featuring in the AFL’s Opening Round against Richmond, and Nicks said nullifying Gold Coasts’ on-ball brigade would be the focus.
“They (the Suns) are super impressive when it comes to the contest and stoppage, and they dominated that, putting the game to away in the first half (last weekend),” Nicks said.
“They’ve got an elite on-ball group that is given first use and if you don’t at least match it in that area then you are going to find yourself in trouble.
“We took a lot out of the game, it was a tough one to look at because it was sort of up and down, Richmond had their chances as well and got runs on.
“It will be a really good first hit-out for us, a really big challenge playing on their home deck.”
The Crows take on the Suns at People First Stadium on Saturday at 7.40pm (ACDT).
The game will be broadcast live on Channel 7 in Adelaide, Fox Footy and Kayo.
