CROWS coach Neil Craig has turned to one of the smallest players in the league in a bid to reignite the tackling and pressure skills that were missing from Adelaide’s game last week.

Last week Hawks onballer Cyril Rioli defied his 177cm and 79kg frame to bring down the Crows' strapping centre-half back Nathan Bock.

Bock, who stands at 193cm and weighs 93kg, was wrapped up by the 18-year-old and was penalised for holding the ball.

“It was a beauty,” Bock said with a laugh.

“Craigy showed it in our game review on Monday and he made a mention of what some tackles, like that one, can do for your side.

“It was pretty much the perfect tackle. I tried to take him on and to put a bit of a fend- off on him, but he seemed to be able to lock my arms up, or lock me up somehow.

“I just couldn’t break free from him and I was pretty angry after that one, but it was a great tackle and, rightly so, they pinged me,” Bock told Radio 5AA.

Craig, who usually takes pride in his team’s relentless pressure and tackling, said it was an area the Crows would need to improve on quickly to beat Fremantle on Saturday afternoon.

“I thought our tackling was really poor last week…really poor. We were just getting brushed aside and ran past,” he said.

“The one that stands out was the tackle from Cyril Rioli on Bock. That was a crucial play and that was from a guy who is probably the same size as Jarrhan Jacky.

“We hardly put that type of tackle on at all and that’s not how we want to go about out footy.”

The Crows were also denied the corridor by Hawthorn last week, which prompted Craig to call an extra session on Friday, to work on zone set-ups, stoppage work and ball movement.

Adelaide will go into Saturday’s clash with Fremantle with one of the club’s youngest line-ups in recent times and Craig called for supporters to be patient with the developing group.

“It’s not a perfect line - trying to improve - and every club has it at some stage,” he said.

“To expect any team in the competition to play at a really high level for 22 rounds plus finals, just doesn’t happen and we’ve already seen that with clubs we thought we’re probably going to do a bit better than they are at the moment.

“It’s not an excuse, but we need to make sure we don’t put those type of performances up on a consistent basis.”