{"id":875392,"date":"2026-08-31T20:30:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T20:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/875392\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T20:30:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T20:30:25","slug":"afl-2026-report-states-matthew-nicks-will-be-sacked-if-adelaide-crows-lose-to-western-bulldogs-in-elimination-final-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/875392\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL 2026: Report states Matthew Nicks will be sacked if Adelaide Crows lose to Western Bulldogs in elimination final, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

A shock report claims Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks is set to lose his job if the Crows fall to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday. <\/p>\n

It comes as a Lions great believes Nicks is \u201cabsolutely\u201d in trouble if his side can\u2019t get the job done in their elimination final at Adelaide Oval. <\/p>\n

Watch every match of every round of the AFL Premiership Season LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n

After a straight-sets finals exit last year after finishing the regular season as minor premiers, the heat is on Adelaide to capitalise on its home final against the Dogs. <\/p>\n

So much so is the pressure on the 51-year-old, Seven\u2019s Tom Morris reports<\/a> Nicks faces a perilous fate should his team fall short this weekend. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf Adelaide loses to the Western Bulldogs this Saturday, then I expect Matthew Nicks will lose his job,\u201d Morris said on Channel Seven on Monday night. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe belief at the Crows is they like Matthew Nicks, they respect Matthew Nicks, they want Matthew Nicks to be the guy, but ultimately, they believe they can\u2019t absorb a seventh straight season without a finals victory. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe compare his record to Neil Craig\u2019s record. Neil Craig is the longest-serving Adelaide coach \u2026 Nicks, if he coaches into next year, will overtake Craig\u2019s record, and the Crows believe they can\u2019t have that unless he coaches at least one finals victory. <\/p>\n

\u201c(It makes) this game this weekend simply a must-win \u2026 this is not my opinion; this is my information.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/p>\n

\u2018WOULD HAVE STAYED\u2026\u2019: Pendles twist as fresh details revealed in \u2018disappointed\u2019 Pies star\u2019s exit<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018IN THIRD\u2019: Twist in Butters race as pecking order emerges; Hawk asks about future \u2014 Whispers<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018ONE OUT OF THE BOX\u2019: Suns\u2019 Pendles gamble explained\u2026 and \u2018brilliant\u2019 blueprint both must follow<\/a><\/p>\n

Craig, who coached Adelaide in 166 games between 2004 and 2011, won three finals from nine attempts as senior coach. <\/p>\n

Nicks, meanwhile, hasn\u2019t won a final from two attempts thus far across 154 games in charge. <\/p>\n

The Crows haven\u2019t won a final since the 2017 preliminary final. <\/p>\n

Morris added: \u201cIf they lose this weekend, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just Matthew Nicks who will be in trouble \u2014 I think other members of that football department are also in trouble. <\/p>\n

\u201cSenior assistants, football boss \u2014 all of them are under the pump.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Fox Footy\u2019s On the Couch, triple premiership Lions great Jonathan Brown said the pressure was well and truly on Nicks. <\/p>\n

Asked if his job is on the line this Saturday, he said: \u201cAbsolutely, yeah. You just know what they\u2019re like. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe (South Australian) natives will be restless over there. Unfortunately for \u2018Nicksy\u2019, they lost straight-sets last year. And if you went out, obviously it\u2019s a knockout final on the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Nicksy is a really good coach, but at the end of the day, your (finals) record\u2019s what everyone goes to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last December, Nicks agreed to a one-year contract extension, bringing his commitment through 2027. <\/p>\n

The former 175-game Swan is about to cap his seventh season in charge of the West Lakes club, with this the second finals campaign he\u2019s led the Crows to. <\/p>\n

He owns a 70-1-83 record over that time, with Adelaide finishing this home-and-away season 15-8 after an 18-5 mark last year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A shock report claims Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks is set to lose his job if the Crows fall…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":875393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-875392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}