Adelaide’s only premiership captain still believes the Crows can play finals in 2024.
That’s despite a 0-4 record and history defying Matthew Nicks in his attempt to take Adelaide to September for the first time.
The Crows looked to have been leapfrogged early in 2024, losing to three teams that finished below them in the previous year.
But Mark Bickley, the 1997 and 1998 Crows premiership captain, wouldn’t buy into suggestions Adelaide is already cooked in 2024.
“I don’t totally subscribe to the (theory) Adelaide won’t play finals,” he began on SEN SA’s The Run Home.
“An element of how you start is to do with your draw… it’s not about where clubs (you have lost to) finished last year, it’s right now.
“I think we all agree Geelong is a really good team. I think we all agree Melbourne is a pretty good team. I think we all agree Fremantle are a vastly improved team.
“All I’m going to say is at the halfway point of last year GWS was three wins and seven losses. If Adelaide after 10 games can have three wins on the board, it shows that it’s possible. GWS made a prelim final and missed out by a point.
“It’s a moot point, but I’m just saying, the fact that no one else has done it doesn’t mean it can’t be done and the order you get your wins doesn’t matter, as long as you get your 12 you’ll play finals.”
In the 18-team competition, only Sydney has played finals from 0-4. The Swans would start the 2017 season winless from their first six games before storming home to win 11 of their last 12.
John Longmire’s side would go on to win an Elimination Final against Essendon before being smashed by Geelong the following week.
Nicks’ Crows were expected to make the leap to finals for the first time in his tenure after falling desperately short in 2023.
Adelaide has improved year on year under Nicks, who was appointed in late 2019. He signed a two-year contract extension earlier this year.
But after averaging the most goals per game in 2023, the Crows have fallen to 17th in that aspect through the first month of the new season.
Bickley believes once the Crows get their confidence in ball movement back, the wheel could turn quickly.
“Forget about what’s going to happen in 20 weeks and just focus on, ‘how do we start to move the ball better and get our confidence back as an organisation?’,” he continued.
“There’s a lot of players playing who look like they’re out of form, a little bit hesitant and not instinctive. Once you solve that, it fixes up a whole lot of problems.”
Adelaide plays Carlton, Essendon and North Melbourne in the next three weeks before the Round 8 Showdown with Port Adelaide.