Adelaide began its 2026 finals campaign with a thrilling 22-point victory against the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. 

After falling behind early in the final term, the Crows found an extra gear to boot five-straight goals and book themselves a semi-final spot with a 14.6 (90) to 9.14 (68) victory. 

Senior Coach Matthew Nicks spoke to the media after the match, and delivered five key takeaways.

Crows stand up under finals pressure

Adelaide secured its first finals win since 2017 on Saturday night, a result Nicks said would give his group great belief moving forward. 

The Crows were forced to fight hard for the victory in what was a scrappy affair, as they used the experience of last year’s finals shortcoming to push them over the line. 

“I'm incredibly proud of what the boys did tonight, this was a finals game that we found the moment where we were going to be tested,” Nicks said. 

“Under the highest level of fatigue and highest pressure situation when the opposition hit the front, the question was asked and the boys answered, so I'm incredibly proud of what the boys did in that moment.

“I think it comes off the back of 12 months ago going through that feeling of pain and what it felt like to not get it done. It's amazing what that experience can do for a young group.

“Relief's not the right word (to sum it up), it's more reinforcing the belief that I have in and we have in them as a coaching group. They just need to believe in themselves, and you get that (belief) through moments like that.

Nicks reflects on overwhelming fan support 

Nicks found a reason to smile late in the final quarter of the Elimination Final victory, as the 51,000-strong crowd at Adelaide Oval stood and applauded when he was shown from the coaches box on the big screen.

He gave an insight into his emotions in that moment, and what it meant to him.

“My emotions, that was a tough one because I had I don't know how many thousands of people staring back at the glass that all stood up and decided that would be a moment,” Nicks said.

“There was a young 14-year-old, I don't know how old he was, but I'm guessing 14. He had both thumbs up and was absolutely grinning.

“It was one of those ones where I just felt like I was watching a baby laugh, right? I couldn't stop laughing with it. So yeah, it was a good feeling.”

Key forwards take their moments

Adelaide was looking for a spark in the final quarter to get itself over the line, and it was the tall forward trio of Riley Thilthorpe, Taylor Walker and Darcy Fogarty that delivered when their team needed it most.

All three Crows spearheads had a long-range set-shot opportunity in the final term, and all three saluted with majors, much to the delight of the home crowd. 

Nicks said it was pleasing to see all three talls take their moment when it came. 

“I don’t think we gave our key forwards the best opportunities consistently all night, but I thought if we were able to give them the opportunities late in the game, they’d step up and not only take the marks, but also finish their work off,” Nicks said.

That's something we've got huge belief in, obviously, Tex has done it over his entire career especially set shots. Darcy I think, learned a fair bit off of Tex, and then there’s Riley. 

“It wasn't necessarily a huge impact for Riley throughout the game, but we knew when he was needed he would step up.

“We just had a post-game review where the players were talking about how much energy Riley brought in that moment and belief for the group when the Bulldogs hit the front.

“There's no surprise off the back of that, we go forward and he's the next one to take the mark and kick the goal, it was a great moment for him.” 

Great wall of Worrell

Defender Josh Worrell produced arguably the best game of his career against the Bulldogs on Saturday night, as he recorded a career-high 34 disposals.

He also set a record for most intercepts in a V/AFL final with 19, as Nicks lauded the way the 25-year-old set the tone from the back half. 

“There’s no doubt he stood out for us in defence,” Nicks said.

“Playing in a back line that was under pressure against a quality opposition that was playing good footy. He was consistently there, winning his one on ones and getting the ball going our way.”

Looking ahead to a Semi-Final against Brisbane

Adelaide will have seven days to recover before it faces reigning premier Brisbane in a cut-throat Semi-Final at The Gabba. 

Nicks said the group would celebrate the victory against the Bulldogs before quickly moving on to the next task at hand.

“Our guys are pros, so we're straight to work. It was quite a physical game, so our guys will go into recovery mode. 

“We had the luxury of watching the Sydney v Brisbane game before we played. So we saw what Sydney was able to bring.

“We also have a huge amount of respect for the Brisbane side, and we know they rarely play two bad games in a row.

“The last time we went up there, we didn't have our best performance, and they were outstanding. So we can't wait, we actually cannot wait to get up there.”

Adelaide will now face Brisbane in a Semi-Final at The Gabba on Saturday, September 12, at 7.05pm (ACST).

Tickets will go on sale on Monday, September 7, via Ticketmaster, from 9.30am-1.30pm (ACST) for Club Members, and 2.30pm (ACST) for the general public.