CAPTAIN Nathan van Berlo said he had mixed emotions after Adelaide's 32-point win over Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Sunday night.
Van Berlo was one of the players most affected by Neil Craig's resignation as coach last Monday, describing the past week as "one of the toughest" of his life.
In the lead up to Showdown XXXI, the 25-year-old vowed the outpouring of emotion surrounding the 103-point loss to St Kilda and Craig's subsequent departure would drive team to perform, and he was true to his word.
The Crows were maniacal in their attack on the ball and the man against Port Adelaide, winning the contested possession (134-109), the tackle count (58-48) and also the clearances (39-21) for one of the few times this season.
The club posted its second-highest score of the year 16.15 (111) on Sunday, bettering its record-low score of 3.6 (24) against the Saints by the eight minute-mark of the second quarter.
Van Berlo said he was delighted with his team's response, but appeared frustrated when asked why it had taken an event as drastic as the departure of a popular senior coach to stimulate a determined four-quarter effort.
"It's a great question, why? I wish I knew the answer to that," van Berlo said.
"I think it shows we've got to go into every game with a hardened mentality and be strong.
"This week, we were able to get a great response for the footy club, but now it's going to be about backing up.
"It's great to get a result tonight. I couldn't be more proud of the playing group … but I've still got some strange emotions about me at the moment to be honest."
Van Berlo led the way against Port Adelaide, amassing 30 possessions and five clearances to be awarded the Showdown Medal for best afield.
The youngest captain in the league has had his leadership questioned at times during the Crows' difficult season, but caretaker coach Mark Bickley said van Berlo's performance under duress against the Power was a testament to the hard-working midfielder.
"Nathan was outstanding," Bickley said.
"I don't think too many people within this club have ever had any doubts about Nathan and his ability.
"For Nathan to step up, in the midfield in a big game when the club needed him probably showed the character of the man."
Van Berlo played down his spirited performance against the Power, saying the club's entire leadership group had taken responsibility for guiding the team through the testing time.
"It's been a big week and as leaders we really wanted to stand up and lead the boys because they would probably look to us first," he said.
"We told ourselves early in the week that we would be judged by our actions. We could say what we wanted in the lead up to the game but ultimately it was going to be about Sunday afternoon and the way we went about our business.
"Tonight was about doing anything it takes to get the win."
