Craig in awe of powerful Cats

Adelaide coach Neil Craig said his side had been 'exposed badly' by an 'unbelievable' Geelong at AAMI Stadium on Friday.

Craig said the Cats were a far superior side but added his team failed to play to its potential when the heat was on during the lopsided first quarter.

"I thought we got rattled by the pressure of the game," Craig said.

"If you are talking about finals football, when the pressure comes on, you've got to be able to hold your nerve and absorb that sort of pressure for a period of time and I don't think we absorbed the pressure at all."

"We looked hesitant, we looked rushed, we fumbled the ball and so forth."

While disappointed with the performance, Craig did take some positives from the second and third quarters when his team was more competitive.

But even during those terms the Crows were still outplayed by a more 'powerful' side.

"A lot of their players have been playing together for a long period of time and they've got some body size," he said.

"When the ball got live and out in the open we weren't able to cope with it."

The 68-point drubbing is the Crows' third loss in a row and leaves them with the challenge of consolidating their place in the eight.

Craig said the team needed to respond before their next game against Collingwood.

"On the scoreboard and tonight was a step backwards but it will be important for us to use that in terms of going forward because it's an experience they've had and they now know the level of competition," he said.

"All of a sudden we're in a situation where a big section of our playing group have to learn some new skills pretty quickly in terms of dealing with some adversity and some pressure and being analysed."

Adding the Crows' problems was the knee injury to onballer Brent Reilly, with club officials estimating he'll miss four weeks of football.

Craig said Reilly's setback would open up an opportunity for another squad member to make an impact.

"We've got a lot of players playing tomorrow and on Sunday in the SANFL and some of those players are in good form and they'll obviously be considered," he said.

Meanwhile Geelong got through the game injury free and has found top form. Craig said the Cats were 'warm favourites' to win back-to-back premierships.

"They are really well balanced, they have talent all over the ground, they've got strong bodies all over the ground, they work really well as a team and have a great feel for each other. I didn't see any weaknesses in their side tonight," he said.