Ruthlessness and consistency are the keys to reversing Adelaide’s on-field fortunes against St Kilda, says Richard Douglas.
The Crows sit 17th on the AFL ladder with a 0-3 record heading into this weekend’s crucial clash with the Saints at Etihad Stadium.
Douglas said the Crows believe they can turn their 2014 season around if the players can produce their best football for four quarters.
“We’ve shown that we are good enough in periods of each game,” Douglas said on FIVEaa.
“But we are not good enough for long enough at the moment. We need to be more relentless at the ball and around the contest for 120 minutes.
“If we can do that we will get that belief back pretty quick and we will be on our way.”
Adelaide has held winnable positions in all three of its matches, but is yet to taste victory in 2014.
The Crows led Geelong early in the final term in the Club’s opening round match at Simonds Stadium, and were also still in the hunt in the third terms against the Power and Swans.
“We’ve shown that we are good enough in patches,” Douglas said.
“But we are not playing as a team and it’s disappointing.
“We’ve been in winning positions in the first three games. We feel when we defend well we’re going to be hard to beat but at the moment we certainly haven’t done it for four quarters.
“Hopefully, we are in a winning position against the Saints this week and we can really put the foot down and be more ruthless.”
The 2010 Crows Club Champion denied fitness was the issue at West Lakes, backing Matt Crouch’s sentiments from earlier in the week.
“It’s just that mental toughness, a bit of maturity and believing that we can put sides away,” Douglas said.
“The boys are having a crack. There’s like a tipping point in a game, it’s like an arm wrestle.
“We feel we can turn it around quickly. We are the only ones who can drag ourselves out of this spot.”
