Former Adelaide coach Malcolm Blight says the Crows are in a volatile position facing serious challenges on and off the field.
After a narrow loss to Fremantle on Sunday, the Crows remain outside of the top eight with six wins and six losses to this point of the season.
“I know it was only three points, but those three points might cost them a spot in the finals,” Blight told SEN's Whateley.
“The Crows supporters aren’t very happy about that result.
“It really did hurt.”
Blight believes the Crows can still contend for a spot in the finals, but queries the depth of their players available.
“Will they have enough good troops back to win four in a row?” Blight asked.
“If you look at their draw it is not easy at all.
“So finding that month where they can win four (games) is most difficult looking forward.”
After competing in the 2017 Grand Final, Adelaide has had a poor start to the season, and Blight thinks the club may have struggled to cope with the disappointment last year.
“The residue sometimes can be pretty tough, particularly when you start virtually odds-on favourite and you miss out,” Blight said.
“I think there’s some residue from that camp they had earlier in the year too.
“There’s still talk about that and a couple of players aren’t very happy with what happened.”
Adelaide will take on Hawthorn this Saturday night at the MCG.