Despite playing well below their best and trailing most of the contest, the Crows had opportunities to hit the front in the final minutes against the Blues at the MCG.

 

Victory could have catapulted them into eighth place after a mini revival in their previous five matches, but the loss leaves them with a 4-5 record and facing a tough run.

 

The good news on Sunday night was that gun midfielder Patrick Dangerfield would not miss next week's clash against Gold Coast after pushing through a back complaint against the Blues.

 

Coach Brenton Sanderson said the gun 24-year-old was "pretty banged up" and would undergo testing in the next 24 hours but it was "nothing that will put him out of next week's game".

 

Despite the efforts of Dangerfield, who finished with 25 possessions and 11 clearances, the Crows' performance was in stark contrast to their brilliant 21-point win over Collingwood just 10 days ago. 

 

"I said that to the players, 'we've got to get off this rollercoaster we're on'," Sanderson said on Sunday night.

 

"We have to get some consistency and we have to play four quarters.

 

"When we get an even contribution from 22 players over four quarters, we're really hard to beat.

 

"(But) when we've got too many passengers and we have lapses in games, you just can't win games of footy playing that way."

 

Sanderson said Sunday's loss was a "significant missed opportunity" against the Blues, but if his team had stolen the four points late "I'd still be in here saying the same thing". 

 

Most disappointing for the coach was a field kicking efficiency of just 58 per cent and a failure to convert in front of goal, finishing with 10.16.   

 

"We didn't kick the ball well all day, we made bad decisions and we tried to pierce the ball shallow inside 50," Sanderson said. 

 

"You kick better when you get your inside 50s more like inside 20s or inside 30s, and a bit more central.

 

"Sometimes you've just got to kick the ball to a contest and back your front and square method.

 

"Today we were trying to bite off too much."

 

Taylor Walker was the only key forward to kick a goal for Adelaide, with Josh Jenkins booting 0.4 and James Podsiadly also goalless before moving into the backline in the final term.

 

Sanderson conceded the team "didn't have a winner with our key forwards" but said the Blues' method of flooding their backline had created opportunities for Eddie Betts, who booted four goals against his former club.  

 

"I thought Eddie handled the week very well," the coach said. 

 

"He was our best forward for the day and kept us in the game. His energy was great."