Malcolm Blight was not impressed by what he saw from the Adelaide Crows in their final pre-season match against Gold Coast.
Last season’s wooden-spooners the Suns beat the Crows by seven points in Noarlunga to record their second win of the Marsh Community Series.
Two-time Adelaide premiership coach Blight was disappointed by his old club’s game plan.
“You’re taking on the 18th team. They expect pressure. (Adelaide) didn’t put on any pressure. They were just playing into the 18th team’s hands,” Blight said on Sportsday SA.
“The Crows win the ball and they just go slow.
“I’m sitting there thinking ‘Hey, I’m a new coach, I’ve got the chance to change this’ because that’s the way they’ve been playing for the last two years.”
After making the Grand Final in 2017, Adelaide tumbled down the ladder to miss the finals in 2018 and 2019, before dismissing coach Don Pyke.
New coach Matthew Nicks’ short reign has yet to yield a win, but Blight said the move of ex-captain Taylor Walker into the ruck for spells looked promising.
“I didn’t mind Tex Walker in the ruck, but I didn’t like him in the middle of the ground,” he said.
“They need another big body. I’d play (Billy) Frampton. What I saw of him last year, he can actually take a mark and he kicks some goals.
“They’re not tall in the forward line now since (Josh) Jenkins is gone.”
Frampton arrived from archrivals Port Adelaide in the off-season after just two matches in 2019.
Adelaide host the Sydney Swans at Adelaide Oval in their first match of the premiership season.
Listen to the full chat on Sportsday SA in the player below
