FootyGoss :: Club News - Adelaide [Crows still confident of playing finals]

The Age reports Adelaide thought its playing group was good enough to be a top-four team this season before its self-belief was stretched to breaking point by five losses in the first six matches.

Now, at 2-5 after Saturday night's impressive 32-point win against Port Adelaide in their 15th clash, the Crows will still struggle to play in the finals for a fourth consecutive year, but at least they have rekindled their flame of expectation just six days after a dismal effort at Geelong.

While Adelaide is not the only enigmatic team in the competition, its best football can still prompt wide-eyed admiration, as it sometimes did against Port, while its worst can deserve the strongest condemnation, as it did against the Cats.

Producing even performances remains the biggest challenge facing Crows coach Gary Ayres, who had a spring in his step and relief in his voice after defeating the Power, which had won their previous seven duels.

Ayres said his players had rebounded with "a real purpose, a lot of passion, a lot of spirit".

"I think what it shows is that if we play near our best, we can match it with most sides in the competition," Ayres said. "We just haven't quite been there, for whatever reason . . ."

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