Port Adelaide Hall of Famer Kane Cornes has urged Adelaide fans not to accept the narrative of a good fightback in their eventual 33-point loss to Sydney on Saturday.
As Cornes notes, the game was essentially over at quarter time.
Sydney booted 9.3 before the first break, their largest ever opening term score against the Crows and their best overall in 25 years.
Facing a 42-point deficit early on, Adelaide won the second and third terms and battled in the fourth, yet the margin was still more than five goals.
Cornes couldn’t comprehend how the Crows were so bad early in the game.
“How can you have a quarter of footy where you have six marks, and you’re also out-tackled. Sydney (also) went 20 times inside forward 50 and scored 12 times,” he told SEN SA Breakfast.
“What I don’t want to hear from anyone at Adelaide today: ‘we were really pleased how we fought back’.
“If you hear it Crows fans, don’t cop it. The game was over at quarter time, finished, done, dead, go home.
“It didn’t matter what happened for the next three quarters, the game was finished.”
The result ensured Adelaide remained 16th on the ladder with just five wins to its name. The Crows are still two wins behind the seven they recorded last year and appear to have taken no steps forward in 2022.
It was a year many hoped the Crows would be able to challenge for the eight, but instead, they’re headed for their third bottom-four finish in the last three years.
Cornes believes accepting that contest and appreciating the fightback isn’t the path that will lead them up the ladder.
“So that is a losers’ mentality… and that’s why you're 16th on the ladder again with that sort of attitude,” he continued.
“Don’t cop it as a Crows fan if you hear any of that language.”
Speaking post-game, Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks acknowledged the first quarter was “hard to ignore”, but added: “From a full game point of view, to fight it out like we did was a real positive.”
Adelaide plays the West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne in two of their final four games, meaning they’re every chance to get to last year’s mark of seven wins.
Next up is seventh-placed Carlton at home this Saturday night.