AS ADELAIDE threatened a comeback win late in the game against the Western Bulldogs on Friday evening, the countdown clock throughout Adelaide Oval and across the broadcast went down, creating a sense of confusion on and off the field.

Down by four goals and out of control for much of the match, the Crows kicked five consecutive goals in the last quarter to dramatically hit the front by way of an Izak Rankine goal.

CROWS v BULLDOGS Full match coverage and stats

"The difficult thing for both teams was that the clock stopped," Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said following his side's third win from as many starts.

"No-one knew what the time was until it got to about, gee what was it? There was about five or six minutes to go… everyone was flustered because you weren't sure how urgent it was based on that clock ticking down.

"But I thought our players managed it pretty well. I mean, at the end when you've got a small margin, you're definitely managing. You're just trying to make sure the opposition don't score."

For Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks, it was just another quirk of the game they were left to contend with.

"We didn't have a clock. But then, that happens. My understanding is it was across the board, the whole stadium went down, so you've got to do what you've got to do in that moment," Nicks explained.

"We can look at how long's done in the quarter, and we work it out from that."

More than the clock, Nicks was left ruing a slow start that ultimately hurt the Crows as they played their first game in front of a home crowd for 2026.

"We were a bit slow to get going for whatever reason. We don't necessarily know yet what the reason was, but just to get ourselves up and firing took us too long," Nicks said.

"I think we were probably lucky to be in it at halftime when you think scoreboard, the Bulldogs were very good in the first half. So, contest, smashed us in the tackle, beat us at ground ball, and that can be where we're a couple of percent off for whatever reason, that was disappointing, that we put that first half out there.

"But in the end, you give yourself a chance, probably adds to the disappointment when you don't get it done… did we just leave it too late?"

A relatively stagnant opening half, in which the Crows racked up 72 uncontested marks to the Dogs' 22, shifted after the main break as the home side added some urgency to its ball movement.

"We showed in the last where (we) were probably a little faster with the ball in the last. We didn't quite get that right in the first half, a little slower than we'd like, and our opposition had given us different options that we could take," Nicks said.

"We did a fair bit about that at halftime, about what that looks like, and (it) probably took us a little too long to get that game going."

One thing that the Crows got right all evening was how key back Jordon Butts contained star Dog Sam Darcy, to the point where frustrations boiled over, seeing Darcy give away a 100m penalty.

"In the olden days, you'd drag a player for things that are a bit undisciplined. He knows, I'm not going to embarrass him, and I think in those circumstances I'd like to think I support a player," Beveridge said of the incident.

"Tempted (to drag him), but he knows, and it's a difficult one… I thought that was a battle the Crows were doing well at, but the boys persisted, so he knows, and I thought he felt like he owed us one. And he'll learn from it."

Pleasing for Beveridge, however, was the "integrity" with which the Bulldogs were able to get the win, after the late challenge.

"I just said to the players that there was a fair bit of integrity in that win, and the Crows (were) the same. For them to come back like they did, nipping at our heels all night, really. I mentioned that they'd be pretty disappointed that they didn't win, but didn't shy away from a pretty significant contested challenge," Beveridge said.

When the early statement was there to be made, it was defensive trio Buku Khamis, Rory Lobb, and James O'Donnell that the Dogs' coach identified as crucial.

"We thought all three of those boys were just outstanding," Beveridge said.