A DISAPPOINTED Don Pyke admits his side's finals hopes are now out of their control, after the Crows were thumped by 66 points against Collingwood on Saturday.

Adelaide fell to a sixth loss from their past eight games after a red-hot Collingwood side blew the Crows away with six unanswered goals in the third term.

The result leaves Adelaide languishing outside the top eight, and Pyke said he was frustrated his side did not rise to the occasion even with finals on the line. 

Don Pyke does his best to hide any disappointment on Saturday. Picture: AFL Photos

"It was super disappointing. We've let ourselves down, we've let our fans and supporters down and it's not acceptable," Pyke said.

"We came here with so much to play for, and not for the first time this year, and especially in the second half, we weren't able to elevate to the level required.

CROWS v PIES Full match coverage and stats

"The season … in terms of where we finish, is out of our control. We've obviously got one game to go and then whatever presents."

Pyke lamented how the Crows fell away in the second half, and said his players were bullied around the ball, with Collingwood winning the contested possessions by nine.

"We got smashed around the ball, in the contest, in the clearance, in the third quarter," Pyke said.

"They were able to get field position and score easily off the back of that."

"And then the longer the game went, our capacity to defend the game was really poor."

WATCH Don Pyke's full post-match media conference

But Pyke said the fans could take solace from the promising performances of highly-rated youngsters Darcy Fogarty and Chayce Jones.

Fogarty followed up five goals last week with another three against the Pies, while Jones had 13 possessions after coming in as a late replacement for Riley Knight (hip soreness).

"I thought Darcy again tonight competed well ahead of the ball. Chayce did some really good things," Pyke said.

"They're going to be the future of the footy club, so it's good to get games into those guys and to see them do some things which suggest they're going to be good long-term players.

"Hopefully that excites the fans on what's been a pretty disappointing night."