Matthew Nicks could not hide his satisfaction after watching his Adelaide side produce its best performance of the 2026 season, ending North Melbourne's improving run with a clinical, contest-driven display.
"We knew we were coming up against a side that were playing really strong brand of footy in North," Nicks said. "To get the game where we got it and get back to some of the things we value most and actually be clean with the ball and punch back at the oppo, we couldn't be more pleased. To hear from our opposition to say they thought it was the best is another compliment."
The Crows weathered a 7-0 inside-50 deficit early before working their way back into the contest. "We made some poor decisions, the first five weren't the only ones, but we got ourselves back on track," Nicks said. "We did well to dig in and just weather the storm. The most pleasing part was we saw that out and going in at half time we were able to reset ourselves back, play a pretty solid third quarter and then in the last we found another level."
Nicks pointed to a renewed authority in the contest as the foundation for everything else. "We found a little bit more punch off that intercept today," he said. "It takes a contest to get that. You don't get to just punch off half back and link up through handball if you don't compete. Today we had enough pressure on our opposition that we earned the right to play the way we know we want to play. These are the things we've been working on now for well over a month through this season. It's a part of our game we're missing, but it's not isolated to just forward handball. It's our contest. And we brought that back to where it needed to be today."
The coach reserved particular praise for ruckmen Reilly O'Brien and Tom McHenry. "I thought our rucks were huge today, against arguably one of the best ruckmen in the competition," Nicks said. "Stretch was just giving us the best opportunity we could from a first-use point of view. I thought our mids went to work and fought really hard. Look at stoppage scores, it was hugely in our advantage. Our rucks were able to get forward at times too and knock a couple of goals through."
The headline performer was Isaac Rankine. "He's found that midfield," Nicks said. "He's really found his niche of what that looks like. He's not chasing the game at the moment, he's allowing the game to come to him. We're getting rewarded because, as is he. Because he's in the right spots when we need him. The things that Isaac's always been known for, the flashy goal from the boundary, we know how good he is as a player. Right now we're seeing chase tackles, run-downs through the middle of the ground. He's in positions you don't even see on the telly at times that we look back at as a team and reward. Mentally he's enjoying playing footy."
Recent recruit Jordan Dawson's midfield partner JP returned from a SANFL stint and stamped his identity on the contest. "His effort today for one, two, three efforts around stoppage especially was exceptional," Nicks said. "He's been a leader with the way he spoke to the group about what we were doing. He went back and was the ultimate professional. We saw some glimpses of that lead-up, that power he's got, and today I thought he was outstanding."
Adelaide head into a daunting Hawthorn fixture next, with Nicks signalling caution around Riley Thilthorpe, Tex Walker and Mark Keane, but otherwise enjoying a moment of validation. "We're in a good position where we take some confidence but know there's still so much improvement. We don't want to hit the ceiling and be scratching along at 500. We want to be going."
