A disappointing second half proved costly for Adelaide on Thursday night, as it fell to Collingwood by 34 points.
The Crows started strongly, and opened up a 26-point lead late in the second term, before the Pies booted three critical goals before the main break to cut the lead to just eight.
The visitors then took control of the contest, booting 10 second half majors to come away with a 16.12 (108) to 11.8 (74) victory.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks spoke to the media post-game, and delivered four key takeaways.
Late second-quarter lapse proves costly
Despite losing control of the lead in the third term, Nicks said it was the final stages of the second quarter where he felt the game shifted.
The Crows allowed Collingwood back into the match by conceding three late goals, and were unable to wrestle back the momentum in the second half.
Nicks said it was disappointing and explained how that period affected the rest of the match.
“It was before half-time, unfortunately. It was about five minutes to go. It's like someone flipped a switch on us,” Nicks said.
“We're 26 points up, playing some pretty solid footy, things are going to plan, and then it was like we just stopped, and then we gave them momentum that we weren't able to bring back in the second half.
“I think it stings a bit, you know, from a mental point-of-view as well, you lose all momentum in the game, and credit to our opposition, they maintained the rage on us.
“They beat us up in the contest in that second half, and in that four and a half minute period.”
The two reasons behind a poor second half
After giving up momentum, Adelaide was unable to wrestle back control, as Collingwood took command across the ground.
In the final two quarters, the Crows conceded 10 goals, while kicking just four, as they unsuccessfully tried to get the game back on their terms.
Nicks highlighted two key reasons behind his team’s second-half struggles.
“It's two things, number one was that our opposition was outstanding, they beat us in the air, they beat us on the ground,” Nicks said.
“Things start going wrong everywhere when you lose that momentum and you give your opposition a sniff, and we just couldn't rein it back in the second half.
“And the other one was we couldn't find any of our game, even some of our execution off the back of contest, the numbers were astronomical in the second half against us.
“So we’ve got a pretty disappointed changeroom at the moment, and we're going to have to lick our wounds and get ourselves ready for a challenge next week.”
A new-look forward line
Adelaide went into its clash against the Pies with a new-look forward structure that featured four talls in Riley Thilthorpe, Taylor Walker, Toby Murray and Finnbar Maley.
The match was a tale of two halves for the forwards group - the quartet had an influence in the first half, before struggling to get involved as the Pies got on top after half-time.
Nicks reflected on the mix and how his talls performed ahead of the ball.
“I understand the question around the contest, we'd like to think we got it done in the air a little more tonight than what we actually did,” Nicks said.
“We did play a slightly taller forward. Finnbar came in for Fog, Tex came in. Tex is really more of that experienced finisher, if we were able to get him in the right positions and give him the opportunity, but it didn't work for us tonight.
“In the end, if we jump at the one game or a half a footy, I reckon that's pretty dangerous because we've been tall right throughout. When we get it done, we all celebrate, and say geez, what a great decision to play tall.
“These are things we have to keep looking at and assessing, what is the mix of that tall group as well - do we need a little bit more run and speed in our front half, possibly.”
The influence of Nick Daicos
Brownlow Medal favourite Nick Daicos continued his outstanding season with a prolific 39-disposal performance against Adelaide on Thursday night.
Nicks said the group tried a number of things to curtail his influence, but in the end were outclassed by the 23-year-old on-baller.
“He's not in rare form, he's been like that for his whole career, we tried a number of different plans or modes, and none of them worked tonight,” Nicks said.
“At half-time, I think he had three score involvements, so if he finished with six, we'd be in a reasonable position, but in the end, he had 10, and a huge amount of metres gained.
“When we're not connected as a team, it's going to be pretty hard to stop a player like Nick. He's a very, very smart footballer with some elite attributes.”
Adelaide will now turn its attention to a clash against Essendon at Marvel Stadium next Sunday.
