Matthew Nicks insists he is the man to lead Adelaide despite finals capitulation

Crows coach Matthew Nicks is adamant he’s the man to lead Adelaide to an AFL premiership despite his side’s season coming to a disappointing end at the Gabba on Saturday night.

With their season on the line, the Crows capitulated as back-to-back premiers Brisbane ran rampant to win by 53 points.

While the Lions are now planning for another preliminary final, this time against Hawthorn, Adelaide can only again contemplate what might have been after exiting at the same stage of the finals series for a second year in succession.

“Unfortunately it’s a long time until we play our next game, so these ones hurt,” Nicks said.

“Maybe tonight’s a reality check that we’ve still got a lot to do. We still have some areas that we have to improve on.”

Before the finals series there were reports that the Crows had to win their elimination final against the Western Bulldogs, which they did, for Nicks to keep his job.

“There are no guarantees in footy, but I’m confident on where we’re at, and with the conversations that are ongoing with the leaders of our football club and my colleagues that we’ll continue to work together,” Nicks said.

“We have great forward momentum as a football club. We’re building something quite special.

“We’re not there yet. We know we’ve still got a fair way to go, but there’s no doubt we’re heading in the right direction, and we’ve got the right people around the club.

“I’m blessed to be a part of that, to be one of the leaders of the club, and I’ll just keep working. It’s just back to work.”

When asked if he believed he was the man to take the Crows to the “promised land”, Nicks said: “Yeah, I do, and I think I’ve got the right support around.

“We’ve got a fantastic group of people, from our chairman to our CEO, (and) we’ve got a great football department that knows their stuff.

“That’s our goal is to keep striving to take another step. There are a lot of positives to come out of this season, but at the moment, we’re all a bit flat, and a lot of South Australia at the moment will be really disappointed, but I hope they see the bigger picture.”

One player who will no longer be part of Adelaide’s on-field journey is Crows stalwart Taylor “Tex” Walker, who retired after Saturday night’s loss.