We know it wasn't a pretty match for supporters to watch, but from a player's point of view we always knew it was going to be a tough match against a disciplined team.
They are very good defensively, which made it hard to score for us. The swirly wind conditions at the MCG also didn't help.
We knew we had to work really hard to score. Our big focus was to put pressure on them, particularly when they were attempting to rebound out of our forward 50.
The Crows really like to generate their run from half-back. We knew we had to set up our zones which blocked their run and made it difficult for them to score as well.
We felt we started well, but we didn't kick our goals when we had our opportunities. The Crows did which was the difference.
Our competitiveness kept us right in the game, and even in the second quarter when Adelaide made the most of its chances on the scoreboard we still felt we were right in the game.
We were only four goals down despite being goalless in the first half, so we were still confident at half time. Coach Dean Bailey also addressed our overuse of handball, which was also an issue at the main break.
In the third quarter, we finally got our first goal through Lynden Dunn, which was a relief. We also started to switch the play and move the ball quickly which is how you can break zones.
As a forward, it's very hard when the ball is being entered into your attack slowly as it allows the opposition to drop back and clog up your space. Therefore, patterns and working together becomes very important.
When we got the ball moving quickly and more efficiently, I felt that we created more opportunities, and were able to turn the momentum of the game our way, especially in the third quarter.
But the story of the day was that we missed too many opportunities in front of goal, finishing with 4.10. I missed one in the third quarter, which I was really disappointed with, but we still entered the final term believing we could win the match particularly as we had the breeze at our end.
Although two early goals from Kurt Tippett in the final team put the Crows up by 37 points, we hit back with three in a row to reduce the deficit back to 15 points. At that stage, we had the run of the match.
During that final quarter, once again, the story of the day reared its ugly head, when we missed set shots for goal.
And when Adelaide kept getting numbers around the ball and created stoppage after stoppage, we weren't able to get clear and create space. So it was a good learning curve for us.
Although it was a frustrating game to play in – as much as it would have been for supporters to watch – we thought it was a match we could've won and in many respects one that got away from us.
Still, we can't look at it all negatively. Our competitive levels have improved. If we were in the same situation last year, we probably would have crumbled.
Instead, we kept fighting on and that will again be our focus against Geelong this Sunday at the MCG.
