Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has indicated he will pick a younger side for Wednesday night’s clash with Melbourne.

The Crows selected their oldest team of the season to take on North Melbourne, only to dish up a performance that was described post-match as “nowhere near the level”.

“We’ll be forced to make changes this week and we’ll be slightly younger again,” Nicks told reporters on Monday.

“It didn’t look like us at all. It didn’t look like our game plan. It didn’t look like the way we trained.

“What it looked like was 18 individuals running around trying hard but doing it on their own.”

Nicks conceded one of the most disappointing aspects of Saturday’s defeat was his side’s inability to show the mental strength required to fight back and get the game back on their terms.

“We need our leaders, our experienced players to step up in those moments and just bring everyone back to what it is we’re trying to do,” he said.

When asked if he would look to make a statement at the selection table, Nicks said decisions would be made based on the Club’s team-first philosophy.

“We’re not about making statements, we’re about getting better,” he said.

“We want to put a product out that our supporters are proud of, so we’ll pick a side to do that.”

The senior coach reiterated the need for his senior players to step up and support the emerging players in the side while highlighting the important balance between youth and experience.

“We’re not going to put 18 young kids out there with no experience and expect them to show experience,” Nicks said.

“It’d be stupid to do that, so we’ll always look at that balance.

“We’re asking certain players to step up in times when we need them.”

Adelaide will name its final team to face Melbourne on Tuesday at 5.50pm ACST.