Following their 10th-placed finish in 2023, Adelaide were expected to make the jump into finals this year with their emerging group.
However, three games into 2024 and their season could not have started in a worse manner.
The Crows now sit with an 0-3 record following losses to Fremantle, Geelong and Gold Coast, all sides they'll be competing with to make the eight.
Ahead of Thursday night’s crunch clash with Melbourne, star midfielder Rory Laird has attempted to pinpoint the team’s shortcomings and how the Crows plan to kickstart their flailing season.
“I understand the supporters’ frustrations, we obviously have frustrations internally as well,” he said on SEN SA’s The Run Home.
“We made a few changes (this year)… we overused the ball at times and didn’t get the ball in the forward 50 enough.
“The glaring issue that you can see is that the execution of simple skill errors… I’d say last year we had more correct than incorrect (decisions) and it opened teams up.”
These skill errors are glaring when observing their entrances into the forward 50, with the Crows averaging only six marks inside 50 this season, three less than even West Coast.
The Crows will be looking to rejuvenate this statistic as quickly as possible but it promises to be a struggle against a strong Melbourne defence that has contributed to three wins in a row.
“Other teams are playing it quite smart, playing the numbers and putting numbers behind the ball, the obvious one being (Geelong defender) Tom Stewart last week,” Laird added.
“There’s a few things we can do to turn it around, we’ve done it before, last year we did it for the whole year.
“It is early, but we’ve got to rectify the problem quickly.”
Adelaide will be looking to turn their season around when they host the Demons at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night to kick off Gather Round.
Playing at home in the prime time spotlight offers the Crows a prime opportunity to stage a comeback against one of the competition’s top-performing teams.
Laird emphasises this, noting how “it’s a perfect test against a set defence in Melbourne this week”.
The Crows have lost their last three to the Demons.