Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has expressed he and the club are “really angry” at their inability to play to their best for a full four quarters, after their last-gasp two-point loss to Fremantle on Good Friday.

The hosts flipped the marquee match on its head in the second half, coming back from 34 points down to shoot out to a 10-point lead with the home crowd in full flight.

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But, in a Crows blow that proved the Dockers are up with the absolute best this season, Justin Longmuir’s side kicked the final two goals of the match before a stoic final five minutes in defence was encapsulated by the winning smother from captain Alex Pearce.

The result on Friday night is the Crows’ third-straight loss by a margin of less than 10 points, after a one-goal loss to the Western Bulldogs in Round 2 before an eight-point loss to Geelong last Thursday night.

Speaking to journalists post-match, Nicks — a traditionally cool customer in the media — was borderline seething during the opening minutes of his Round 4 debrief.

“That was deja vu, wasn’t it? Three weeks in a row. What we’re pretty clear on, is we can’t allow our opposition the game on their terms like we’re allowing in the first half,” Nicks began.

“We’re working our way through the why … and it’s pretty clear that the ability to execute it is the most frustrating bit at the moment. It’s making us really angry that we’re not able to get it done for four quarters.

Stunner & smother save Dockers late! | 02:27

“When you’re playing really good sides, which we’ve done for a month, you get what you deserve … we got smashed at the contest.

“There’s an ability to direct your focus and get it done, and we’re not doing that at the moment — in really critical moments. You give sides like Fremantle that start, good luck. Unfortunately, we’ve found ourselves on the wrong end of it.”

Adelaide was smoked at contested ball and clearance throughout the first half and was beaten by 16 at the final count in the former stat.

It took a huge third term from James Peatling alongside a valiant effort from the likes of Josh Worrell and six-gamer Lachie McAndrew to keep the Crows afloat, but in reality the Dockers were a far more polished outfit that Nicks was willing to credit.

“It’s hard to be in a contest from five metres away. For whatever reason, our focus isn’t where it needs to be in those key moments,” he continued.

“Credit to our opposition, led by (Andrew) Brayshaw, (Caleb) Serong and others, they’re too good for you to give that sort of space. They were sharp, very sharp early, and we weren’t.

“There’s no finger-pointing. We’re in a position where the outcome’s 1-3 (win-loss record). That’s not the issue; the issue is the process we’re not getting right.

“You’d like to think we’ll get on top of that sooner rather than later, otherwise we’re going to be sitting here with the same result.”

“I’m just really disappointed for us, our football club … but at the same time, I’m still so optimistic that we’re good enough. We’re batting deep at the moment, we’ve got some guys not out there … (but) it’s on us at the moment.”

The home side had to do it tough without Darcy Fogarty (back) and Isaac Cumming (illness) withdrawing just an hour before the start of the match, temporarily joining the likes of Jordan Butts (concussion), Dan Curtin (knee) and Mark Keane (leg) on the sidelines.

Adelaide will have a six-day break before their Gather Round curtain-raiser against Carlton on Thursday night. Cumming is expected to return for the match, though doubt still surrounds Fogarty’s availability at this stage.