Rebounding defender Brodie Smith says Adelaide is refusing to give up on its finals dream.

The Crows slipped to 12^th on the AFL ladder after being overrun by West Coast at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night. The Club is level on points with North Melbourne and Carlton; one game behind the ninth-placed Eagles and two games behind Port Adelaide, which is occupying eighth spot.

Smith said his team wouldn’t discount September action until it was mathematically impossible.

“We’ve dropped to 12^th, which makes it pretty tough but it’s still possible (to make finals), so we’ve got to be confident,” Smith said on Monday.

“We’re just looking forward to Friday night against Collingwood now. We’ve got to try to play some good footy for the rest of the year.”

Adelaide led by 13 points with six minutes to play on Saturday night, but the visitors kicked three unanswered goals to snatch victory.

“Everyone was pretty shattered after the game. It was a game we should’ve won and we let it slip,” Smith said.

“We played pretty well, but we let them get a couple of run-ons and they kicked goals. It’s something that’s happened a few times this year, and something we’re trying to stop.”

The Crows will be forced to make at least two changes for their clash with Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night. Midfielder Aidan Riley will miss the rest of the season after having surgery to repair a fractured fibula, while Shaun McKernan has been offered a two-game ban for striking. Bernie Vince (concussion) will also have to pass a fitness test during the week.

“It’s shattering for Aidan. He finally comes in and gets his chance, and that happens. Hopefully, he has a quick recovery and he’ll be back as soon as possible,” he said.

“Bernie was in the change rooms today walking around, so hopefully he’s okay.”

The Magpies responded to a disappointing display against Port Adelaide with an emphatic win over rivals Carlton last Friday night. Stars Travis Cloke, Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan and swingman Ben Reid were all in ominous touch. Smith said it would take a better team performance for Adelaide to snap a five-game losing streak against the Pies.

“It was a very impressive performance from Collingwood (against Carlton). They’re a proud club and they were always going to bounce back from their performance the week before. They looked very good and outworked their opponents,” Smith said.

“We’ll go over there on Friday night and try to bounce back from our performance. The MCG is the home of football, so we’d like to have a good record there. We’ve lost our last couple at the ‘G’, so we’ll go over there desperate to get a win on the board.

“We’ll be fired up.”