Adelaide Assistant Nathan van Berlo says the Crows have shown their best footy is good enough to match it with the best teams but struggle with consistency.
The Crows were still in the hunt with five minutes remaining in the Round 17 match against Brisbane, only to fall by 11 points at the Gabba on Sunday.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, van Berlo said the players’ ability to keep fighting and stem the Lions’ momentum was pleasing.
“We gave them the first three goals of the game and we were on the back foot and the margin ended up being less than two kicks,” van Berlo said.
“We played some really good footy against a red-hot opposition… (and) we know our game stacks up and it can challenge the best teams in the competition.
“Our challenge has always been consistency… We just couldn’t quite peg it back inside that 10-point margin to really put the pressure on.
“We are disappointed albeit pleased with our continual effort to get ourselves back in the hunt.”
Van Berlo said the Club was also supporting forward-mid Izak Rankine, after he was racially abused on social media.
“He’s doing OK, we’ll wrap our arms around him and support him as best as we can, knowing it’s been a difficult time for him,” van Berlo said.
“It’s so sad it’s still prevalent in our game and in society.
“It’s not acceptable… so we will continue to support all our players, in particular Izak at this point in time.”
Adelaide takes on St Kilda at home this Saturday night and van Berlo said the side was working hard to turn its form around.
“We’ve got a big challenge this week with St Kilda, who knocked off Sydney on the weekend and played a really strong brand of footy,” van Berlo said.
“Our work will be cut out for us and we need to be focused on this week and then we’ll set our sights to what’s next thereafter but a big test for us this week.”
The Crows play the Saints at Adelaide Oval on Saturday at 7pm.
All kids aged 14 years old and under will get free access to the game when an adult ticket is purchased.
Tickets available here.
