Crows wonât change approach to fix slow starts: Nicks
Adelaide have been left to rue slow starts for two consecutive weeks but coach Matthew Nicks is confident they don’t need to change anything.
Adelaide donât need to change their approach in order to arrest a costly run of slow starts, says Matthew Nicks.
The Crows coach is also confident of regaining skipper Jordan Dawson for next Fridayâs clash with Fremantle.
Adelaide dawdled out of the blocks against Geelong on Thursday, like they did a week before against the Western Bulldogs, and again came up short.
Following the 9.14 (68) to 9.6 (60) loss, Nicks lamented giving Geelong the first 10 inside-50s of the game along with an early 15-point lead.
âProbably the first 10 minutes of the game we were still on the bus,â Nicks said, before dismissing the suggestion Adelaide could need to change their preparation or warm-up.
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âNo, itâs not something that we need to change,â he said.
âWeâve come out in games and started really well. So, weâll just keep working on being better and knowing what it takes.â
But Nicks planned to take âa pretty close lookâ at the opening 10 minutes of the game to figure out where they went wrong, along with how to close out a tight contest.
He was frustrated with how much territory Geelong were consistently able to gain.
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âWe talk about earning the right to play a certain way, we didnât earn that tonight for long enough,â Nicks said.
Nicks praised key backs Nick Murray, Max Michalanney and Jordon Butts, who hung in and made life tough for Geelongâs forwards.
âThey at least limit the scoreboard impact and keep us in the fight. If you look at expected score, we probably dodged a bullet,â Nick said.
âI think they should have been 30-odd points ahead of us at one point. That can come from pressure on the kicker and our backs have been pretty solid.
âSo give some credit where itâs due, but we just canât keep putting them under that sort of pressure.â
Dawson (calf), Taylor Walker (managed) and Rory Laird (calf) should return to provide much-needed experience against Fremantle.
âThere were a few that were really close to this week,â Nicks said.
âDaws was super close. It was a captainâs run decision. Lairdâs similar. Tex should be right to go. His was more of a management decision.
âI think weâll be looking at at least three of them.â
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