Taylor Walker's trip to Perth wasn't a waste, say Crows

Taylor Walker travelled with the Crows to the west coast, but didn't play against Fremantle. (Dylan Burns/AAP PHOTOS)

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has defended the decision to fly Taylor Walker to Perth but then not play him, saying the veteran was effectively like another coach for the group.

The Crows put up an almighty fight against flag favourites Fremantle but ultimately fell short by 24 points in Friday night's blockbuster in Perth.

Scores were level early in the final quarter, only for Fremantle to kick the next three goals on the way to the 16.16 (112) to 13.10 (88) win.

Taylor Walker's experience made it worth having him make the trip, said Adelaide's coach. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

Walker announced he would retire at the end of the season in the lead-up to the match, and Adelaide decided to rest the 36-year-old against the Dockers to leave him fresh and fit for the upcoming finals.

But eyebrows were raised when Walker still made the trip to Perth despite not being needed to play.

"He's got a fair bit of experience, Tex. It's like bringing another coach with us, and he was fantastic pre-game," Nicks said.

"The experience that he brings in that space and the connection he has with our playing group - and we played a pretty young forward line down there tonight - it was great to have him there just to support them.

"There's no issue for Tex flying as far as he did on a 14-day break. He'll be prepped and ready to go next week.

"We're going to need his best footy to win finals footy. So managing him was the decision we made."

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Skipper Jordan Dawson copped a heavy blow to his ribs early in the match, but he was able to play out the game and isn't expected to miss next week's crunch clash with GWS.

Adelaide (14-8) must beat the Giants to have any hope of snaring a top-four berth, and Nicks was buoyed by his team's efforts against Fremantle.

Costly skill errors late in the match proved to be Adelaide's undoing, but Nicks feels like his team have what it takes to match the competition's best sides.

"It was in the balance against the best team in the competition by far this year, away from home," Nicks said.

"We've got some guys and even some staff that are pretty gutted because we didn't finish it off in the end.

"But I think we all know deep down that that was a little bit more back to us."