Adelaide coach Don Pyke describes his club’s 28-point win over Collingwood as a finals “dress rehearsal”, praising the Magpies’ tackling intensity.
The Crows took second spot on the ladder with six games remaining in the premiership season but were forced to work hard for the four points and were out-tackled 97-65 on Saturday night.
While the Magpies are surely out of the finals race, their pressure at stoppages and indeed around the ground was the sort that Pyke said his players would face in September.
With that in mind, Pyke was pleased with their ability to handle Collingwood’s pressure defensively and restrict the Magpies to just 10 goals.
“Real credit to Collingwood, there was a lot of pressure in that game and it was sort of a finals-type pressure,” Pyke said.
“They laid nearly 100 tackles … we were probably guilty of over-using it but that’s sometimes forced on you by the fact that the pressure’s arriving.
“That’s finals footy…it’s a great dress rehearsal for us.
“Our defensive actions held up really strongly.
“They kicked 10 goals for the game - there’s some positives out of that.”
Saturday night also marked the 300th senior AFL game for Scott Thompson.
Pyke said earlier in the week he didn’t feel the need to overhype the milestone game, although admitted the players watched some of Thompson’s highlights on Friday.
The Five: Round 17 v Collingwood
More than simply an incredible inside midfielder, Pyke said the 33-year-old’s character and behaviour at the club during the week served as a blueprint from which young players should look to build their own careers.
“We had a little video tribute for 'Thommo' yesterday, spoke about his journey through the club and his standing not only in the game but in our club,” he said.
“He’s influential in the locker room as a guy who’s clearly played 300 games but the way he’s played it, the style he’s played it in really sets a strong example.
“It was great to be able to play the way we did and get a win for him.”
The Crows hope gun defender Rory Laird (hip) will return to face Geelong next weekend, although Pyke admitted it’ll be a tough call as to who would make way for his selection.
