Trust the game plan and trust the players.

That was the Crows coaching cohort’s thoughts as it headed into three-quarter time against Brisbane at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.

Adelaide found itself staring at a 17-point deficit with about 30 minutes remaining in the blockbuster battle between second and third.

Although the scoreline didn’t flatter the hosts, Crows Coaching Director Murray Davis said his team of coaches, headed by Senior mentor Matthew Nicks, remained calm and focused on the process.

That trust and calmness sparked belief within the players, and with the coaches resisting an urge to move too many magnets, the Crows flipped the script to record a come-from-behind win.

“We didn’t really change anything structurally,” Davis told AFC Media post-game.

“It was more just about making sure we carried out our focus that we went into the game with and the players were able to do a really good job in that space.

“I think when you come from behind like that in the sense you’re chasing on the scoreboard, the players just played with no fear, almost.

“We were still in the game, even though the scoreboard wasn’t in our favour and we had to try and put Brisbane under pressure by winning the territory game and we felt like we did that, certainly in the last quarter.”

Davis, an experienced assistant, landed at the Crows’ nest during the 2024 off-season after spending 13 campaigns with the premiership-winning Lions.

Part of his role at Adelaide is to be a calm presence in the box.

But even Davis admitted to having some tense moments during the final few minutes of the match against his former side.

“I wasn't nervous but I must admit I was peaking at the time clock as it was ticking down and thinking ‘this seems to be taking forever’,” Davis said.

“In our coaches’ box we are really in tune to making sure we coach it out - we ask our players to play it out right to the end, so coaching is no different.

“(My role) is also just making sure we have real clarity around our messaging, making sure the messaging is all aligned and that we aren’t going out with too many messages.

“I try to keep everyone calm, which can be hard in such a close game like it was tonight.”

The Crows’ five-point win was also built on players standing up in big moments, according to Davis.

“We just had some incredible moments where players stood up - I won’t mention them all because there’s a lot of them,” Davis said.

“There will be some moments where we look back and think ‘gee, that was a big one-on-one to win’, a lot of players stood up at critical times and that’s part of being a good team.

“It’s just testament to the players’ willingness to get to work and play the game out and it was about not giving up and playing it right out.

“We kicked some unbelievable goals and I’m sure when we go back and watch the tape, there will be some things we didn’t even see in the coaches’ box that we’ll marvel at.”

Adelaide’s next challenge is a clash against Hawthorn in Tasmania next Friday night.

Davis said the review of the win against the Lions would begin almost immediately post-game, before opposition analysis on the Hawks.

“Tonight we managed to get the four points and there will be a lot of lessons we take from the game, from playing against a really good team,” Davis said.

“It’s nice to get the win but in the coaching world you just move on very quickly, so we’ll enjoy it for 24 hours and then move on.

“Hawthorn will be another great challenge for us, so we’ll freshen the players up, and we’ll start to put some work into Hawthorn early on in the week.

“If we can bring that pressure like we did against Sydney and Brisbane at different stages tonight, I think that’s what we have to do to beat any team, we’ll have to be at our best.”