It was fast, furious and futile for the Crows but coach Neil Craig says more good than bad came from his team's overwhelming loss to the Indigenous All Stars.

As the sky over Darwin emptied in fits and spurts, the All Stars slammed Adelaide 14.13 (97) to 6.7 (43) in the pre-season match at Marrara Oval on Friday.

The young and nimble indigenous team had speed on their side and the Crows proved no match in the tropical wet conditions.

"(It was) an eye opener in terms of speed," Craig said after the match.

"That's an unnatural AFL side, you're not going to come up against that too often. It was a good experience for those guys to play against."

Despite the loss Craig said the Crows had "gained a lot of positives" from the game.

"Their movement and ball speed exposed us in certain areas," he said.

"That was what was one of the advantages of playing that sort of game and that sort of opposition, so we got what we wanted there."

Youngsters Tom Lee, Brodie Martin and Myke Cook were singled out by the coach for their encouraging performances.

"Those guys wouldn't have known that speed existed before tonight so they certainly do now," he said.

Young back flanker Greg Gallman suffered an apparent broken collarbone, which Craig called: "a real negative for him and a negative for us".

"We don't want broken collar bones and that sort of thing but as soon as you run out you put yourself at risk (but) a lot more positive stuff has come out of it."

The game was blown open in term three, as the All Stars leapt from a 23-point margin at the half to a safe 39-point advantage with one to play.

Craig said his team's height, the weather and the superior ball skills of the indigenous team had finally taken its toll.

With two weeks until the NAB Cup opener, the Crows will now focus on their discipline, ball movement and attention to detail.

"We've got some work to do," said Craig.

"We take that and move forward... I think our structures fell apart with their pressure.

"We're not totally ingrained yet with a lot of the stuff we've done in pre-season...

"That's a disappointment but you need to play in these sort of games to find that out."

Rookie coach and triple Brisbane Lions premiership star Chris Johnson said the indigenous team had pulled together with only one week preparation.

"We didn't have one leader tonight," he said.

"We had a lot of senior players stand up through the whole week, and especially tonight, lead the way and the rest of the boys just followed with them."

Leg speed was highlighted as the real key to the match.

"I sort of use it as pressure, running and chasing from behind," Johnson said.

"We had pressure coming from the front of them and the back of them as well."

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