Adelaide went down to Hawthorn by three points at UTAS Stadium on Friday night, after a hard-fought, low scoring game.

The clash was a tale of two halves, with the Crows doing all the attacking in the first.

But the Hawks soon flipped the switch, cutting Adelaide’s lead to four points at the final change, and stealing the lead in the fourth term.

A moment of quick thinking from Crows Captain Jordan Dawson and a piece of magic from Izak Rankine gave Adelaide back the lead, before Jai Newcombe pounced on a loose footy to kick the winner.

Senior Coach Matthew Nicks spoke to the media post game, and delivered five key takeaways.

Crows left to rue inaccuracy in front of goals

Adelaide dominated the game in the first half and recorded five more scoring shots than Hawthorn.

But the Crows managed just 4.7 by half-time, leaving the door ajar for the Hawks.

Nicks said being unable to capitalise cost the Crows on Friday night.

“In the end, we just didn’t take our opportunities - so scoreboard pressure, we didn’t add any,” Nicks said.

“(I was) really pleased with the way we attacked it and came to play but against a top side, you’ve got to put them away.

“It’s one of those things in sport - one kick can be the difference and we have to be better in that first half - and it’s really just our finishing.

“That’s an area we’ve got to work on…We have to convert more than that otherwise the game is wide open in the second half.”

Positive first-half 

There were many aspects about Adelaide’s first half to like - including the players’ hunt for the ball and pressure applied on the Hawks.

The Crows played forward-half footy, locking the ball in their attacking 50 for much of the first two quarters.

Adelaide led the clearance count by seven and contested possession by 20 at the main break.

Nicks said he was pleased with the way his players took the game on in the first half, despite not being able to make it count on the scoreboard.

“We have to take positives from the first half,” Nicks said.

“Our contest, our tackle, the pressure we brought, the way we played around stoppage - there were a lot of positives there.

“It’s interesting from one week to the next - last week we got across the line by a kick and the locker room is a good place to be around.

“There’s a pretty disappointed locker room knowing that’s how the game played out. The boys are disappointed, they’re competitors, as are we as a coaching group, and I’m sure our supporters are disappointed as well.”

Nicks on Berry’s role

Midfielder Sam Berry played an important role in shutting down Hawks on-baller Jai Newcombe for the majority of the game.

Berry held Newcombe to just five touches in the first half (and 15 for the game), as Hawthorn struggled to get its hands on the ball out of the middle.

The Crows midfielder went on to record 15 disposals, six tackles and three clearances.

Although Newcombe kicked the final goal of the game, Nicks was proud of Berry’s performance and his growth since being included in the starting line-up.

“I thought Berry was a real positive for us,” Nicks said.

“He has been now for a period of time. That match-up tonight was a really big match-up.

“He’s (Newcombe) a high-level footballer, so for him (Berry) to do a really strong job for the majority of the night is a really good sign for him going forward.”

Conditions in Tassie

The ‘feels like’ temperature in Launceston was just 3.6 degrees at the first bounce, and the match was played in slippery conditions, with dew and frost on the grass.

Although it was cold and wet, Nicks refused to blame the conditions for the Crows’ loss or their inability to capitalise in front of the goals.

“It was slippery, there’s no doubt it was a slippery, wet game, so that’s a challenge when it comes to finishing your work off," Nicks said.

“(But) we couldn’t have got a better night for it - it was beautiful. Today was a magnificent day. 

“It’s a little fresher than what it is back in Melbourne and Adelaide but it was a great night for footy. Night games are often slippery, often dewy… we play in a lot of wet games, so you have to get used to that in that June/July period.”

Crows to eye four-quarter effort post-bye

Adelaide players will have a week to freshen their bodies and minds with the Club’s bye next weekend.

The Crows have yet to have their bye, playing 14 games straight since the season kicked off in March.

Nicks said there would be plenty of learnings from the clash.

He said a focus for the second half of the year would be on maintaining intensity for four-quarters.

“We’ll take a bit out of the second half,” Nicks said.

“In a very low-scoring game, it just took a couple of moments in the second half that didn’t go our way and the game is on again.

“We understand how important it is that you’ve got to get it right for four quarters to beat the best sides.

“We did that reasonably well last week. This week we didn’t do that quite as well.”

The Crows will make their return from the bye when they face Richmond at the MCG on Sunday, June 29.