Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks insists his team are making progress despite their dramatic implosion against Sydney consigning them to another year in the finals wilderness.
The Crows were on track to pull off a stunning upset at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night when they led the Swans by 16 points with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.
But Sydney slammed through the next 10 goals to consign Adelaide to their third consecutive defeat, leaving the 15th-placed Crows (4-9-1) searching for answers heading into their bye week.
Earlier this year, Adelaide re-signed Nicks until the end of 2026 - a decision that has been heavily criticised given the Crows' poor form this year.
Nicks still retains the support of Adelaide chief executive Tim Silvers and chairman John Olsen, and he is confident of turning around the club's fortunes.
"I've learnt that I've got a pretty good footy club looking after me at the moment," Nicks said after the loss to Sydney. "It's challenging. But I've got full backing of this footy club.
"John and Tim have been amazing for me. Our playing group have been incredible through this tough time.
"So I hope that's a sign of the sort of human I am. We're not going to give up. We're going to keep pushing through.
"We actually feel that we are making progress this year, and it's dangerous to say that, because our results don't show that, and we understand. We understand the frustration, and we have the same frustration."
Nicks praised his players for the way they have dealt with the growing scrutiny of the club. "They've handled it well from what I can see. Inside the four walls it's business as usual," Nicks said.
"We're working hard to be a better footy team. The environment remains a positive environment. We want to keep it that way. We also acknowledge and understand we have to be a lot better.
"That doesn't mean we're going to drop our bundle and give up. The season - we've still got a fair way to go. We're all competitors and we hate losing. We know the journey we're on and we're sticking to it."
Sydney have enjoyed two byes already this season. In contrast, Adelaide are just heading into their first - a point not lost on Nicks.
"They looked quite fresh," Nicks quipped about the Swans. "We've just played 14 games in a row. We'll take a bye now, and we need it.
"Our guys are looking forward to that physical and mental break. This is our first look at it. Some have had two byes."
As for the AFL's recent tweak to the holding-the-ball rule?
"The word confused is fair," Nicks said in regards to some of the decisions and non decisions being made.
"But we all make mistakes. I'm assuming there have been mistakes - because otherwise I am extremely confused and I have no idea what the rules are."
