CROWS defender Kris Massie concedes his side was second to the ball last week and must rectify the problem to be any chance of upstaging the Swans on Saturday night.
Adelaide’s obvious problem in Sunday’s Showdown loss was a lack of scoring power, but Massie said that was a direct result of efforts further up the ground.
"Kicking goals [is what’s missing] at the moment,” Massie said on Wednesday. "It's pretty simple really, but I also feel there was [something else missing]. I came off the field and I was disappointed in the sense that Port were first in and under.
“No matter if you're a player, an observer, or whatever position you hold, you could actually see Port were first in and under, so we really need to really dig in a bit and not let our results control our thinking.
"It's not how we want to go about it. You have teams across the league where they're probably just a little bit off and, on the weekend, we were off, but all the emotion of that's gone.
“It's about moving forward this week and getting a win against Sydney. I know we have a great record against Sydney at the SCG and personally I can't wait.”
The Crows, who pride themselves on winning the contested ball, were soundly beaten in that area last week and, this week, will tackle the AFL’s contested-possession kings.
The Swans are renowned for their hard, tight-checking tactics and Massie said Saturday night would provide Adelaide with the perfect opportunity to rediscover the intensity lacking last week.
"It's perfect for us [to play the Swans this week] because we got found out on the weekend, and we're not hiding away from that,” Massie said.
“To be able to front up against a side, where their strength is winning the in and under contested ball, it's a perfect opportunity for us to rectify that and turn it around this week.”
Enigmatic forward Barry Hall has been touted as a potential inclusion for the Swans this week, who are likely to be without Michael O’Loughlin and Leo Barry through injury.
Massie, who has played on Hall in the past, said the defenders would be ready with tactics to ‘get under his skin’ if he was to return to the line-up.
"Whoever's available, it's not going to affect the way we go about it, whether Barry's playing or not,” Massie said.
"Each club knows about vulnerable players and I reckon we've got them. Every club has them, so in order to get under their skin a bit you need to block his space and have support, perhaps a Benny Rutten or whoever's on him at the time.
“I know Bass has done the job, so we'll put a good back man on him.”
The Crows, who have dropped the past five games straight, were perched in ninth position at this time last year, also requiring four wins from the remaining six games.
History shows Adelaide achieved that feat, going on to contest the elimination final, but Massie said the players would not look to the past for inspiration.
"If you ask me about memories of last year or the year before I'd be winging it, so I can't remember how we went about it,” Massie said.
“I just want to win this week and even if you asked me how I prepared last week, I'm even a bit vague on that. It's not because I'm a vague person, it's just you've got to move forward and, if you don't, you get crucified and get caught up in [negative videos on] YouTube and things like that.”
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the club.
