Adelaide Senior Coach Matthew Nicks says the bye has given the team a good opportunity to freshen up, ahead of the backend of the season.
The Crows were one of six teams to be part of the final bye of the minor round last weekend and speaking to the media on Wednesday morning, Nicks said the key for the side now was to get back to playing its best footy.
“We got a week to freshen up both mentally and physically and reset ourselves for the back half of the year,” Nicks said.
“The key now for us is really looking to finish strong, have that momentum going into that latter part of the season and get back to our best footy.
“We’re constantly reviewing and adjusting and molding our game, we understand week to week and what is not working for us.
“There are areas of our game that we knew after four games we had to fix and adjust and we did that, and other things pop up so you continue to work through it.”
Adelaide’s first test will be against Greater Western Sydney this Saturday night, with Nicks aware of the challenge ahead.
“They have (got the better of us) here, especially at our home ground, one we’re not going to shy away from,” Nicks said.
“They are a very good side and if you don’t bring the contest they’ve got the execution, the skill, the talent on the field to really punish you and they have done that to us unfortunately the last two or three times we have played here at Adelaide Oval.
“Sometimes it is a nice way to come into a game knowing that a team has done that to you and guys will come out with that edge we talked about last week that we’ve got to bring.
“Then the challenge is doing that for four quarters.”
A potential reinforcement for the clash is veteran forward Taylor Walker, with Nicks confident he will return after last playing in Round 13 due to a back injury.
“It’s a slightly modified week for him, but we have to see that he is ready to go, and he has to know that too himself,” Nicks said.
“We will make that call come captains run on Friday, but we are pretty confident he is going to be ok.
“He has done a ton of work to get himself right and we have been very deliberate with that, we didn’t want to rush it.
“He wants to go out and perform, he wants to go out and make the side better, so he is making decisions over the last few weeks for the team.”
Adelaide plays GWS at Adelaide Oval on Saturday at 7pm.
Tickets available here.
