ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig has heaped praise on his young side for its come from-behind-win against Richmond at the MCG.

The Crows won by 50 points despite trailing until the 19-minute mark of the third quarter.

Craig said his team had an inner belief they could knock off the Tigers despite the early deficit.

“Our guys are a confident group. They are not cocky but they have set really high expectations about where they want to go and they continue to fight games out,” he said.

The Crows coach said his young charges would learn plenty from playing games at the home of football.

“We’ve played here twice this year and both times had to fight for the win, so that adds to the experience our playing group needs to get,” he said.

“It is a sensational ground, one of the best in the world, and the more they can play here and perform and have to fight for their wins the better off they’ll be.”

Craig said the playing group was never overwhelmed by the challenge it faced despite Richmond’s early surge.

“I thought our guys held their nerve really well. You can sense in a game if the playing group starts to waver in that area and not once did I sense that. It is great credit to them and their fighting ability,” he said

The Crows were expected to sorely miss suspended forward Brett Burton but his replacement Luke Jericho produced a career-best performance that might finally ensure he is a regular in Adelaide’s team.

Craig said he was impressed by what he saw from the 23-year-old.

“Luke understands where he sits. To do what he did today, you can’t ask for any more,” he said.

“He has fulfilled his part of the bargain and all he needs to do is keep performing and keep the pressure on the match committee.”