ADELAIDE coach Matthew Nicks has defended the move to fly veteran forward Taylor Walker to Perth on a week when he was managed, with the former captain effectively serving as an extra coach in Friday night's costly loss against Fremantle.  

Walker, who has announced he will retire at the end of this season, was rested to avoid playing off back-to-back six-day breaks, with his on-field presence missed at Optus Stadium as the Crows faded late to lose by 24 points. 

The result has left the Crows' position in the top six on shaky ground, but Nicks said the team needed to manage its all-time leading goalkicker carefully to ensure he can perform at a high level in September. 

DOCKERS v CROWS Full match coverage and stats

"Our planning there was a 14-day break for Tex. We're off two six-day breaks, and if we played Tex this week, that would have been four [games] in a row," Nicks said on Friday night.  

"He's a damn good player, Tex … but we know what he needs to play his best footy, and we're going to need his best footy to win finals footy. So managing him was the decision we made. 

"Bringing him across, he's got a fair bit of experience, Tex. It's like bringing another coach with us, and he was fantastic tonight pre-game. 

"The experience that he brings in that space and the connection he has with our playing group … it was great to have him there just to support them. 

"There's no issue for Tex flying as far as we did on a 14-day break. He'll be prepped and ready to go next week."

Friday night's match was in the balance early in the final quarter with scores tied, but Fremantle booted five quick goals and dominated centre clearances 7-1 in the quarter to secure the minor premiership with its 19th win. 

Nicks said the Crows had taken it up to the ladder leaders and played some strong football, but they were disappointed with costly skill errors late in the game that were punished by the Dockers.  

   "Tonight's a great contest. It's in the balance against the best team in the competition by far this year, away from home," Nicks said. 

"We've got some guys and even some staff that are pretty gutted because we didn't finish it off in the end. But I think we all know deep down that that was a little bit more back to us. 

"Last week we didn't play a game that was anywhere near the way we play, and we had a win. I'm not sure which one you want to take. I'll take last week. However, we played better footy tonight [and] we're confident we're going to bring that again." 

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir was proud of his team's perseverance on Friday night and ability to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Melbourne at the MCG last Saturday.

He said there were finals-like elements to the game, giving the Dockers an ideal preparation for September after securing the second minor premiership in the club's history. 

"We wanted to get back to the things that have got us into this position, and they haven't been lacking totally in the last four to six weeks, but they've been inconsistent," Longmuir said. 

"Our physicality has been inconsistent, our non-negotiable work rate's been a little bit inconsistent. Playing together has been a little bit inconsistent. So we got back to doing that tonight. 

"There's playing for the team and there's going when the team needs, which has been just off marginally. We got back to that tonight. 

"It (the minor premiership) is a good achievement. We've set our season up. That's the way I look at it." 

Captain Alex Pearce copped a knock to his left knee that he was able to play through, with Longmuir declaring the key defender had no concerns post-match.  

Young star Murphy Reid could miss the club's final-round clash against Carlton, however, as he manages a painful knock to the groin, with the second-year midfielder/forward receiving specialist advice this week. 

"He's going to be touch and go for next week," Longmuir said after Reid missed his first game since being drafted. 

"He's had some specialist advice and we'll see how he goes this week. It's not going to be long term, but if it costs him another week, so be it. 

"He's played a lot of footy for us and I don't think another week will hurt him off."