ADELAIDE coach Don Pyke has apologised for his club's insipid second-half performance in the 57-point flogging at the hands of Port Adelaide in Showdown 47 on Saturday.
The Crows hit the front after co-captain Taylor Walker's goal inside the first minute of the third quarter, before the Power booted nine unanswered goals – including six in a 15-minute burst in the third term.
Large portions of the 50,544-strong crowd left Adelaide Oval before the final siren in disgust as Adelaide suffered its second-biggest loss to Port since the cross-town rivalry started in 1997.
Matt Crouch is on fire! #AFLCrowsPower pic.twitter.com/C8ARxPMYlY
— AFL (@AFL) July 6, 2019
"I want to apologise to our members and fans who turned up to watch, because that was nowhere near good enough from all of us," Pyke told reporters.
"We were badly beaten.
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"We were just miles off, miles off, in terms of what we would expect from ourselves as a group – players, coaches, all of us, we're all in it together.
"That was nowhere near the level at AFL that is going to get it done.
"We've got some work to do and that was really disappointing."
The Crows conceded 41 inside 50s to 12 in the second half, while getting beaten in the clearances 21-12.
They shot themselves in the foot with inaccurate kicking in front of goal in the first half, with 4.11 at the main break.
"From there, we were embarrassed," Pyke said.
"We were outplayed by a side that worked harder than us.
"We were just beaten everywhere and it was nowhere near the level that is acceptable."
That was fast! #AFLCrowsPower pic.twitter.com/FzTLdAUk3T
— AFL (@AFL) July 6, 2019
Adelaide couldn't stem the tide as Port ran away easy winners, 15.11 (101) to 5.14 (44).
It's a costly loss for the Crows (8-7), who could slip out of the top-eight by the end of the weekend depending on other results.
"It puts us back in the pack a little bit in terms of where we sit, but you sit where you sit for a reason," Pyke said.
"Tonight's not going to get it done at any level in this competition."
WATCH Don Pyke's full post-match press conference
Pyke didn't believe he made a mistake in selecting key forward Josh Jenkins after he missed the past three weeks with a knee injury.
Jenkins looked rusty, finishing with 10 disposals and failing to hit the scoreboard.
"He was one hundred per cent fit," Pyke said.
"He was confident, we back him in and at the end of the day, that's what you do."
Pyke said forward Tom Lynch should be available to return from a calf injury for next week's clash with lowly Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, while forward Jordan Gallucci will be assessed after suffering a concussion.
Key defenders Daniel Talia (ankle) and Alex Keath (knee) picked up knocks, but finished the game.
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