A piece of Brayden Cook brilliance in the dying seconds helped lift Adelaide to a thrilling one-point victory in Showdown 59. 

Cook’s goal was the crescendo of another classic Showdown, as the Crows found a way to keep the fast-finish Power at bay and produce a crucial 11.10 (76) to 11.9 (75) triumph. 

Crows Senior Coach Matthew Nicks spoke to the media following the match and delivered five key takeaways. 

Why Brayden Cook was the perfect man for the match-winning moment 

Wing Brayden Cook propelled himself into Showdown folklore on Friday night, as he lifted the Crows to victory with a stunning match-winning goal.

Nicks said he would not have wanted the ball in anyone else’s hands at the moment, and went in-depth on how much the 23-year-old had grown this season.

“That’s Brayden’s weapon, Brayden’s had that (finishing ability) since he arrived at the club,” Nicks said.

“We knew he’d take a little bit of time to round his game out, he’s always had high end talent with the ball in his hand - it was a matter of getting him in the right positions and getting him to understand the contest parts to it.

“I think we’ve all seen this season that he’s taken his game to a new level, his leadership in the off-season was as good as any of our recognised leaders, and now he’s getting rewarded for it and so are we.

“To have the ball in his hands at that point, I think most of us would have been reasonably confident he’d finish the job.” 

The goal highlighted another strong performance by Cook, as he finished the night with 21 disposals, seven marks and 429 metres gained.

Crows to take confidence out of last-gasp victory 

Adelaide players, coaches and fans went from agony to ecstasy in what was a thrilling final minute of Showdown 59.

The Crows coughed up a goal, and the lead, with 46 seconds to go, before Cook kicked the final major of the game to come away with the win. 

Nicks lauded how the group quickly got on with the task at hand, and said players would take a lot of confidence out of how they handled the close-game situation.

“There’s scenarios that we work through, and I’ll be good cop and bad cop, because we didn’t get one of our scenarios right - which will be a good learning for us,” Nicks said. 

“But to flip that on its head really quickly and go down and finish our work off, I think the boys will take a lot of confidence out of that. 

“I think that was a game where you talk about moments, to this point in the season it’s been a bit of a grind for us, but I think this one was a bit of a momentum changer. 

“We’ve played some really good footy, our front of centre game was good, inside 50s were in our favour, we didn’t necessarily capitalise on that first half - but I think our guys will take a lot of belief and momentum out of this win.” 

He also touched on controversy surrounding umpiring decisions from the match. 

“What a spectacle (the game) is really what it was, and there’s things we’re all going to comment on, I’m glad it finished the way it did,” Nicks said.

Berry stands tall in the midfield

On-baller Sam Berry added his name to the esteemed list of Showdown medallists with an inspiring performance against the Power. 

Berry was a force through the midfield for the Crows, as he recorded 29 disposals, 704 metres gained a whopping 19 tackles - one short of teammate Rory Laird’s VFL/AFL record of 20 in a game. 

Nicks said Berry’s leadership around the ball was vital and was pleased to see him be rewarded for his hard work. “There’s been a lot of noise around, and maybe some of it fair, but tonight against such a high quality oppo Bez obviously led from the front and we got the result,” Nicks said.

“With Jordan (Dawson) not playing, Bez has stepped right up, not just on-field but off-field with his leadership all week.

“It’s not easy to have 19 tackles, especially when you’re playing against the likes of Butters and Horne-Francis who are explosive players, but that’s Bez’s strength and he played to it tonight.

“I’m glad he’s starting to believe, he should have believed a little while ago because he’s been good for a long time.”

Toby Murray takes his moments

In just his third AFL game, tall forward Toby Murray produced some critical moments that ultimately helped lift the Crows to victory.

As Adelaide began to take control of the match late in the third quarter, Murray was in the thick of the action, booting back-to-back majors to give his team the lead. 

“I was really pleased with Toby’s game, Toby’s played three games of AFL football and there were moments he looked like a really strong key forward,” Nicks said.

“There were moments where he was beaten, and that’s what happens with younger players, but just to see him have a crack at the game was great.

“He had a few moments that were really important momentum shifters for us.” 

An update on Taylor Walker and Jordon Butts

Adelaide ended the match with just three on the bench, as Taylor Walker (hamstring) and Jordon Butts (groin) suffered injuries during the night.

Nicks gave a brief update on the duo, and their potential availability for next week’s game against Richmond. 

“It was really pleasing that we were able to fight and grind it out with three on the bench at the end,” Nicks said.

“But in the same breath, it was disappointing to lose two really key pillars (Walker and Butts), if anything we’d started to get a bit of momentum in bringing some soldiers in with Curtin back in today and Alex Neal-Bullen as well. 

“I think Jordon Butts was a groin and Tex was a hammy, we think both will miss next week at this point.”