“We’ve got to take accountability" - Mitch Hinge urges Adelaide Crows to stick together after tough start to AFL campaign
Adelaide Crows defender Mitch Hinge urged his teammates to stick together and play with more force following a challenging start to the 2024 AFL season. They have lost five matches this season, struggling to bounce back.
In their latest match on April 19th, Adelaide suffered a defeat against the Essendon Bombers, with a score of 75-78. On Monday, April 22nd, Mitch Hinge addressed the media and reflected on how the team prepared for the upcoming tournaments.
Hinge believes it's important for the team to stick together during this tough time and improve their game. He said (via AFL):
“It’s disappointing and we’ve got to live with that, but at the end of the day, we’ve come in today knowing what we have to work on. We’ve got to take accountability as players and just get back on the track and keep working.”
Additionally, Hinge spoke about his team's performance, saying:
"We were really poor with our contested footy … We were down in our contested ball and ground ball gets and tackles. We want to base our game around being hard at the footy and our contest side and bring that every week, non-negotiable.
“I think when you don’t bring that, and you finish the game and you lose, it’s bitterly disappointing. I think at times during the year, we’ve shown bits of how we want to play but the disappointing thing about Friday night is that we didn’t do it for long enough," he added.
The Adelaide Crows started the season against Gold Coast, where they suffered a loss of 54-60 in Round 1. In the next round, they faced Geelong, experiencing another defeat with a score of 77-96.
In Round 3, Fremantle defeated Adelaide 69-34. The Crows then lost against Melbourne, however, they secured a victory in Round 5 against Carlton but again faced defeat last week against Essendon.
Adelaide Crows to face North Melbourne next
The Adelaide Crows will next face North Melbourne on Saturday, April 27, at 13:45 AEST.
After suffering loss after loss, the team has been looking forward to winning this week in Round 7. This week's action begins on Wednesday, April 24, with Richmond playing against Melbourne, followed by a match between Essendon and Collingwood on Thursday, April 25.
Over the weekend, besides North Melbourne and the Adelaide Crows, Geelong will face Carlton, while Fremantle will compete against the Western Bulldogs. Gold Coast vs West Coast and Hawthorn vs Sydney are slated for Sunday, April 28.