Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has addressed comments from young forward Josh Rachele during the week after the 21-year-old voiced frustration over his on-field positioning in the Crows' 27-point loss to Hawthorn over the weekend.
Taken with a top 10 pick in the 2021 draft as an explosive midfield-forward, Rachele burst onto the AFL scene as a prolific goalkicker, kicking five in his first match against Fremantle, but conceded this week that sacrificing midfield minutes is a role he struggles with.
Attending just two centre bounces in Saturday's loss, Rachele told 9 News Adelaide that it's an issue he's eager to front his coaches about.
โWe didn't get a lot of inside-50s on the weekend, and I didn't play a lot of midfield again," Rachele said on Tuesday.
โIt's something that I probably don't really know what's going on.โ
โI'll sit with the coaches and ask questions today about โhow can I inject myself in the game?' when I'm not getting too much of the ball.โ
Nicks was quizzed on Rachele's comments this Wednesday, acknowledging that he understands his frustration and revealing that the two had since shared a healthy discussion.
"Josh and I had a really good chat this week," Nicks told reporters. "He's been really fantastic.
"Off the back of poor performance, sometimes, as a team, what can happen is some frustration, and we've worked our way through that."
The Crows face the challenge of Thursday night lights at home for a clash against a severely undermanned Richmond outfit. While their Round 12 loss to Hawthorn dampened hopes of a late season finals surge, a loss to the Tigers tomorrow night may just end their season.
