ADELAIDE'S ability to show incredible resilience in the face of extreme adversity will help it overcome Saturday's devastating Grand Final loss, midfielder David Mackay says.
The 46-point loss to Richmond at the MCG capped an emotional couple of years for the Crows that included the tragic death of senior coach Phil Walsh in 2015.
The Crows were a shattered bunch in the dressing rooms immediately after the game as they dealt with the harsh reality of seeing their premiership dreams disappear.
Mackay said the game would eventually be used as motivation to go one step further next year.
"It will be at some point," he said.
"It's obviously pretty raw at the moment.
"We'll stick together as a club and we've been able to do that in the past, and now's another time we'll be tested and we have to do it.
"This club is really strong and made up of great people, so I've got no doubt that will happen."
Every Crow rated from the Grand Final
Mackay is one of the most experienced players in the Crows' side having played 185 games in 11 seasons with the club.
The 29-year-old said it was a loss that would take a long time to get over, with the Crows in their first Grand Final since 1998.
"It's shattering. It's everything you work for to get this opportunity," he said.
"Unfortunately, it was a bad day to have a bad day for us and we didn't play the way we wanted to.
"It's going to hurt the boys and the coaching staff and the whole footy club, but we're a strong club and we'll reflect for a few days and try and learn from the experience, that's all you can do."
The Crows kicked the first two goals of the game before the Tigers booted 12 of the next 13 to seize control.
"Coming into half-time I thought we hadn't played well, but we were only nine points down so the game was in the balance," Mackay said.
"I thought if we could play a little bit better we'd hopefully get a little bit more control of the game, but our third quarter was poor and they capitalised on the scoreboard and from there we were chasing our tails."
Want more Grand Final coverage?
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