MATTHEW Nicks let it linger.

Adelaide's ascent up the ladder last year – finals for the first time since 2017, the minor premiership and eight wins from nine games heading into September – ended in disaster.

A qualifying final against Collingwood saw them outplayed by an experienced travelling Magpies outfit. The next week, they were well beaten by Hawthorn. Both games were at Adelaide Oval.

After entering the finals as a genuine flag threat, the Crows were bounced out and Nicks was in no rush to move on.

"We allowed ourselves to sit in the disappointment for as long as it took. We didn't want to ignore that," Nicks told AFL.com.au.

"We've done a lot of preparation over a number of years and the preparation was painful. There were years where it was really tough but we felt like it was part of the process, part of being in the moment and learning from those mistakes.

"But to get there, as we did last year and finish minor premiers, and be found wanting a little ... we weren't quite ready for that step. We weren't up to."

Izak Rankine's suspension on the eve of the finals for a homophobic slur cost the Crows one of the game's best players – and certainly one of their matchwinners – but Adelaide was overwhelmed by two travelling sides.

"There were some gutted players considering the opportunity we knew we had. But we know we're going to be better for it. We deliberately spent time in that disappointment so that we had that moment to look back on and say, 'Well, what does it mean now?'" he said.

"We now have a more experienced playing group that knows exactly what you need to have for finals footy."

Nicks has been the face of Adelaide's long and disciplined rebuild, taking over the club as senior coach for the 2020 season. At first there were three wins, then seven, then eight, before 11 wins in 2023. A backwards step in 2024 with eight wins preceded a huge lift last season with 18 wins as Adelaide proved to be one of the highest-scoring, more powerful and attacking teams in the competition.

Nicks said leaning on assistant Murray Davis, who was at Brisbane when the Lions crashed out of the finals in straight sets losses in 2019 before their run of recent flag success, had been helpful and that he watched how the rest of last year's finals played out. "Brisbane are doing a lot right and not getting a lot wrong," he said.

Balancing the progress with the dejection has been part of the Crows' summer motivation. It has been a summer that has included an extension for Nicks, who was due to come out of contract at the end of 2026.

The new deal takes him to the end of 2027, with the rarity of a one-year deal added to his current contract. Why just one?

"The club wanted 10 and I sort of went back and said, 'No, just the one'," Nicks joked. "No, we mutually agreed on the one. Realistically it's a two-year deal because we've got this season coming and then the next.

"If we get everything right in every area we can then we know we're a competitive team and we should be looking to keep improving. Part of that improvement is getting back to where we were this year and going again.

"It's our coaching group that's being rewarded for that extension. I know it sounds like one [year], but we're going to spend another two years together working hard to be better again and enjoy a little bit longer into September."

It hasn't been the perfect summer for the Crows. Key players Mark Keane (broken leg) and Dan Curtin (knee) have suffered injuries that will rule them out until mid-year, while Rankine (hamstring), Isaac Cumming (hamstring), Mitch Hinge (back) and recruit Cal Ah Chee (hamstring) all sat out last week's clash with Port Adelaide with their injury issues.

That on top of a tougher fixture – the Crows play Collingwood, the Western Bulldogs, Geelong and Fremantle in a crunch opening month – hasn't hampered the Crows' coach confidence in his group's capacity to go closer to the club's first premiership since 1998.

"Our group's confident. I don't think I've worked with a group that doesn't think they can win the flag at the start of a season. We're unique beasts, we're all competitors," Nicks said.

"I know our guys are really confident in what we're building. I also know they know we're not there yet. We've still got things to improve on and the only way to see if we've improved on those things is to get into the position again.

"We're going to play some really big games early this season, some big Friday night games against the best sides throughout because of where we finished last year. We're clear on the fact I reckon from one to nine last year, any of those teams getting it right towards the end like we did could have finished as minor premiers. I didn't include Sydney in that and that's not fair because they're going to be an unbelievable side.

"We know the challenges. But we don't lack confidence in what we're building."

MATTHEW NICKS ON ...

MOVING BRAYDEN COOK AND LUKE NANKERVIS TO HALF-BACK

"It's where we see another area we might be able to add to our group and a way to inflict some damage on our opposition. Brayden Cook's a very good ball user with a beautiful kick, a good decision maker. There's two components to that position. There's a defensive part. We defend as a team as a whole and I use (Dayne) Zorko as an example. He's a great player, a great decision maker and player and he has a great team around him in the way they defend it allows him to do what he does in offence. There's no doubt he helps them move the footy. We're looking at that. Luke Nankervis is similar (to Cook). He's played half-forward and half-back for us. We're probably looking at if there's something more we can get off half-back and giving Luke and Brayden a crack at it."

CATEGORY B ROOKIE INDY COTTON'S POTENTIAL

"We're really excited about Indy. He's got a basketball background. He's always loved football and I think as a really young kid he was pretty solid. He fits right in like he's been training with us for years. Where he gets to, who knows? These basketballers bring a unique skill set and an awareness about the way they play. He already looks really balanced and moves well. We've trialled Indy in a couple of different spots – half-forward, just to let him loose and attack the game, and then over the last week we've put him to half-back and he looks really comfortable. When I talk about him I smile because there's a little bit of excitement there. Let's under promise there and hope he can make his mark."