After much public criticism of the side after the round four loss to Carlton, Burton went on the front foot in defence of his coach and the game plan.
“Our feedback is, let’s get our backyard right first,” Burton said. “Let’s stop fumbling the footy, let’s start hitting kicks, and the game plan might work. So we don’t have a problem with the game plan.”
“We showed to a high level last year that it can work and we have got great belief that it can work again. But at the moment we’ve got players in our group that are not taking the ball cleanly and we are not hitting kicks. We can’t judge the game plan when we are not doing the simple things.”
Adelaide beat Carlton in a number of areas on the weekend including stoppage clearances and inside 50s, but what came under most scrutiny was accuracy in front of goal.
Adelaide had 25 scoring shots to Carlton’s 23 and Burton admitted a majority of those shots were kickable.
He said the playing group took responsibility for not taking the opportunities when they were there.
“I think it’s unfair to put the blame on him (Neil Craig), as a playing group we take full responsibility for the result on the weekend and it was there to be won and we weren’t able to finish,” Burton said.
“With goal kicking we go through a routine and we’re taught that that is the best way to do it. I guess if the process is the same every time, it’s hard to judge something if it’s different every time.
“You miss a few and it’s just natural to start doubting yourself. That’s when you just need the resolve to stick to your routine and keep going at it.”
“We’ve just got to keep lifting the standards at training, we’ve got to keep supporting each other and doing extra work and that’s the only way I know and the only way the players know how to get out of this. It’s not to put your head in the hole. We’ve got to work hard and things will start happening.”
