Is it “finals or bust” for Matthew Nicks at Adelaide in 2025?

Will Matthew Nicks survive as Adelaide coach if the Crows again miss out on playing finals in 2025?

Given that the 49-year-old hasn’t coached a final in five years at the helm, former Crow Josh Jenkins can’t see Nicks coaching beyond this campaign if they’re again not playing once September rolls around.

While Nicks’ Crows finished last in 2020, the former GWS assistant took the side steadily up the ladder in the next three seasons, finishing 15th in 2021, 14th in 2022 and 10th in 2023 where they were brutally unlucky to miss out on September action. Unfortunately in 2024, things regressed and Adelaide finished 15th.

With that in mind, Jenkins discussed Nicks’ future with Julian De Stoop on SEN The Run Home.

De Stoop: “If you were doing your ladder or reverse ladder right now for 2025, where would you have the Crows?”

Jenkins: “I’m going to mark them harshly because I fell into them last year and had them fourth, which didn’t go so well.

“I don’t know if there’s a world where Matthew Nicks survives a finals-less season.”

De Stoop: “I was going to ask you that, is it finals or bust?”

Jenkins: “For him, yeah, I believe so. I don’t see a world where he survives if they don’t make finals.

“I know that’s an outlandish thing to say at this time of year, but it feels that way for him.”

De Stoop: “Well, it’s his sixth season. Not many coaches go six seasons without making finals.”

Jenkins: “They’d argue they did enough (in 2023), but in the end they didn’t.”

Nicks is currently contracted until the end of the 2026 season.

Jenkins made several more observations about the Crows during his Stop/Start/Keep analysis of Adelaide. 

The former forward thinks the Crows need to stop relying on Taylor Walker, Jordan Dawson and Izak Rankine for game-winning performances, start showing fans a more consistent method with the ball in hand and keep being hard to play against, particularly in Adelaide.