THE CROWS will continue to back themselves and play a more attacking style of footy despite going down to the Western Bulldogs by three points in a thriller at the Telstra Dome on Sunday.
Adelaide booted its highest score, 18.15 (123), in more than 12 months, but also conceded 126 points, which was way up on last year’s points against average of 79.
The Crows have prided themselves on their miserly defence over the past two years, and young midfielder David Mackay said the challenge for Adelaide was to find the right balance of defence and attack.
“We obviously want to try and take more risks and, in doing that, there’s obviously the risk of opposition teams getting some more ball out loose. That was something we didn’t do well in the first half on Sunday,” Mackay said.
“The Bulldogs got a lot of uncontested footy and we were all kind of gravitating towards the contest, but … it was much better in the second half.
“There’s probably a chance [we’ll concede higher scores by attacking more], but we don’t want that to happen.
“You have to pick and choose when you attack and when you defend, and we’re still very conscious of what we need to do defensively to be a successful team.”
The Crows, who had two more scoring shots than the Dogs, had the chance to snatch victory through defender-turned-forward Nathan Bock, but Bock’s shot on goal missed to the near side just two seconds before the siren sounded.
“We were in it all day and then had a really good chance to win, so it was obviously very disappointing, especially for the guys playing their first games,” Mackay said.
“’Bocky’ had a lot of support from the guys after the game. ‘Craigy’ [coach Neil Craig] brought it [the missed shot on goal] up and said that it wasn’t Bocky’s error that determined the result, but more the build-up of missed opportunities as the game wore on.”
Adelaide was left to rue the three late goals to Bulldogs skipper Brad Johnson, which all came about through defensive errors or turnovers.
“This year, when we get to three or four goals in front, we’ve really been trying to put the foot down and go further in front in games,” Mackay said.
“But in the third quarter yesterday, we weren’t able to do that.”
The form of Mackay and fellow debutant Kurt Tippett were two big positives in the defeat. Mackay adapted well to the pace of AFL and showed clean hands in his 10 touches, while Tippett followed up his superb NAB Cup form with two goals and a solid effort in the ruck.
“It was a bit of a blur early, but once I settled in, it went very quickly,” Tippett said.
“It was definitely a lot faster than the pre-season games and there was probably a bit more hype too with the atmosphere of the crowd. Obviously there were a few more nerves as well, which didn’t help.”
The two debutants will be determined to taste victory against the West Coast at AAMI Stadium next Saturday. Adelaide has suffered a spate of recent narrow losses, including last year’s elimination final loss to Hawthorn, but Tippett said it was just a matter of time before the Crows turned that record around.
“There is definitely an art to winning, and we’re aware of that,” he said.
“You’re only one game away from your next win, but you’ve got to keep putting yourself in the position to win those tight games and that’s what we’re all about.”
