The Crows lost to Melbourne by 33 points but fielded a number of young players with limited AFL experience, with Ben Davis (two goals), Tyson Stengle and defender Jordan Butts among those featuring heavily.

"We had a number of new guys, obviously (Ben) Crocker and (Ben) Keays played today - guys who have played at other clubs, but who are still really young footballers," Nicks said.

"As far as the experience goes, this is outstanding stuff for them. This is really going to benefit them going forward."

At times the Crows delivered some excellent ball movement and despite a number of turnovers, Nicks said his side wouldn't shy away from taking risks.

"We were really pleased with some of the passages of play that we put together - especially with offence," he said.

"We made some mistakes and we were punished on the scoreboard but we're not going to stop taking the game on

"I think that's something that we're looking at this year about let's enjoy playing, and playing fast football."

Nicks said he'd enjoyed taking the reins for the first time.

"Oh, it was rewarding.I really enjoyed watching our boys in a really good hitout," he said.

"I was proud of the way they went about it. We're a bit flat but that's just because it's our first challenge and you come out against a good side.

"But we'll take a lot of learning out of it, we'll work on it this week and the guys will go to work again next Saturday."

Adelaide got through the game unscathed, while they expect to have Taylor Walker and Paul Seedsman available for their next pre-season game, while some players will also feature in an under-23s game next week.

Australian Associated Press