ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig conceded his side was “exposed badly” by a “far superior” Geelong team at AAMI Stadium on Friday night.

The Cats notched up 10 scoring shots to one in the first term and continued their dominance in the remaining three quarters to run out 68-point winners.

All week, Adelaide vowed to attack and move the ball quickly, but the Crows were “rattled” by the might of Geelong and were never really in the contest.

Craig said the Cats’ awesome performance had set the bar for his own team going forward.

“There needs to be great credit given to Geelong. That was an unbelievable performance, what we witnessed tonight,” Craig said after the game.

“Whilst they [Geelong] were far superior on the night, I thought we got rattled by the pressure of the game. If you’re talking about finals football, which is when the pressure comes on, you’ve got to be able to hold your nerve for a period of time and I don’t think we absorbed it at all.

“We looked hesitant, rushed and we fumbled the ball, so that would be the most disappointing thing to come out of the game for us.

“They were exceptional and I think everyone recognises they are the best team in the competition. What does that game add to our club? A recognition that that is the level. We’ve played against it, we’ve been exposed badly and we couldn’t handle the pressure, so that’s what we take out of it.

“Now we’re crystal clear about the level that’s out there and where we need to go. That’s really important for our playing group.”

Friday night’s loss was Adelaide’s third straight and Craig said his team would need to regroup before heading to the MCG to tackle Collingwood next Saturday.

The Crows will be without midfielder Brent Reilly for the clash with early signs suggesting he’ll miss four weeks with a medial strain in his right knee.

Many punters viewed the Cats’ performance as a ‘flex’ of their premiership muscle, but Craig said the premiership had not been won yet.

“We’re still very much in the race for the eight,” Craig said.

“This is our third loss in a row, so all of a sudden we’re in a situation where a big section of our playing group have to learn some new skills pretty quickly, in terms of dealing with some pressure, adversity and being analysed.

“What you saw tonight was an exceptional football team, but things can change pretty quickly and there are certainly some sides above us [playing well].

“You saw Collingwood beat Geelong so I wouldn’t be prepared to say everyone else is playing for second place.”