The Adelaide Crows will bounce back from their AFL grand final defeat, with Premier Jay Weatherill declaring "there's a premiership in this team".
Mr Weatherill was on hand early on Sunday for the club's family fun day at Adelaide Oval, originally planned to celebrate a great victory over Richmond on Saturday.
But despite the 48-point drubbing, thousands still turned out to commiserate together and pay tribute to the team that finished top after the minor rounds but just couldn't take the final step.
Many settled in a for a long wait to see their heroes, with flight issues out of Melbourne pushing back their appearance, the delay emblematic of how the team's weekend went.
"Obviously, it's gut-wrenching (for) Crows' supporters but what they need to remember is how far they've come over the past couple of years," the premier said.
"This club has been on an extraordinary journey. They've been the best team all year.
"There's a lot this club is entitled to be proud of. There's a premiership in this team. There's no doubt about it.
"Everything that has been thrown at this club has only made them stronger and I'm sure this will too."
Mr Weatherill said the Crows also had to contend with a hostile crowd and questioned the AFL's ticketing system that denied many Adelaide fans a chance to go to the game in Melbourne.
He said there was no doubt it's always a massive challenge to play a Victorian club at the MCG.
"But think about how beautiful it is when you win," he said.
Adelaide's appearance in the grand final came after the death of former head coach Phil Walsh, who was stabbed to death in his home in 2015, and the loss of assistant coach Dean Bailey who died from lung cancer in 2014.
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