Crows midfielder Richard Douglas says Saturday’s 39-point loss to Geelong was a timely reminder of what can happen if the team doesn’t bring its best on game day.
Determined to farewell three greats, Steve Johnson, James Kelly and Mathew Stokes, in the right manner, the Cats kicked five of the opening six goals of the game to lead by 33 points at quarter time.
Through four-goal forward Eddie Betts, dominant ruckman Sam Jacobs and tireless workers Rory Sloane and Scott Thompson, Adelaide fought back and closed to within one point late in the third term. But the home team snuffed out any hope of a Crows victory, piling on the first three goals of the final term and running out comfortable winners.
Geelong dominated the contested possessions (148-124), clearances (40-29) and tackles (70-50). Douglas said they were a few of the key areas Adelaide would address ahead of next week’s Elimination Final.
“Our KPIs; the ground balls and tackles that we pride ourselves on, and in the last six weeks have been really dominant, in were down today,” Douglas said.
“It just reaffirmed for us that if we go away from those focus areas that is the result we’re going to get. That’s the message for us today.
“We’ve got to review it, but we’ll move on pretty quickly at the same time. We’ve got a final to prepare for, so we need to get back into a positive mindset and be ready for that one.”
Adelaide appeared flat against the inspired Cats.
Fellow top-eight teams, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs also suffered losses this round.
Douglas said he didn’t think having a finals spot secured affected his team’s mindset.
“If we’d won, there was still a chance of a home final,” Douglas said.
“So, there was still a fair bit on it for us, but we were outplayed by Geelong. They were harder at the contest and wanted it more, which was disappointing. We’ll address that and move on.
“We won’t dwell on the result. We’ve been in some good form prior today and it’s important we bring that form next week.”
As it panned out, Brisbane’s upset win over the Bulldogs meant the Crows could’ve secured a home Elimination Final by beating the Cats.
Instead, Adelaide will travel to the MCG to take on the Dogs. The Week One finals fixture will be released by the AFL at the completion of West Coast’s clash with St Kilda on Saturday night.
Douglas said it was great for the Club and its fans to be back in September action.
“The boys are a bit disappointed at the moment, but it is exciting to be back in finals,” he said.
“It’s been three long years for us and there are a few guys in the team that haven’t experienced finals yet. We’re really excited and looking forward to the week ahead.
“We’ll focus on training well and then getting over to Melbourne and giving it a red-hot crack.”
