Pyke cools Adelaide’s top-four hype

Adelaide’s confidence is bubbling but coach Don Pyke isn’t thinking of a top-four AFL finish just yet.

The Crows rose to sixth on the ladder after downing North Melbourne by 33 points on Thursday night – their fifth consecutive win.

But while first-year head coach Pyke says confidence is growing, he’s refusing to countenance a coveted top-four spot.

“The next target for us is to try and put ourselves in a spot to qualify for finals and it really is week-to-week, to be honest,” Pyke said post-game.

“We have got an 11-day break into Melbourne and they are playing some good strong footy so there’s no easy games in this comp, I have learnt that very quickly.

“But that said, the guys are in a good space, they’re playing some good team footy and they’re building with confidence each week.

“We are playing some good strong footy and tonight was another step forward for us in that journey.”

Adelaide’s win over North was marred by woeful goalkicking – they finished 12.28 (100) to North’s 10.7 (67).

“Potentially we could have won by further if we had of kicked more accurately but we got there in the end,” Pyke said.

“You always worry about that (inaccurate goalkicking).

“But I felt the way the game was being played and the flow of the game, it was coming more into our half and I felt that would eventually lead to goals.”

While conditions were damp and blustery, Pyke said other factors were at play.

“It’s a combination of the pressure and some of our set shots were clearly not at the (required) level,” he said.

“Some of that was our doing and some of that was the pressure of the game.

“Some of it was where we had shots from as well. We had shots from out wide, you’re going to miss you’re share from out there.”

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