EDDIE Betts is repaying the faith shown in him by Adelaide, earning rave reviews from coach Brenton Sanderson on Saturday after his five-star performance against Greater Western Sydney.
The Crows turned some heads when they signed Betts from Carlton late last year in a deal worth a reported $2 million over four years.
But the club has enjoyed a strong return on its investment thus far, with Saturday's five-goal haul taking the 27-year-old's tally to an impressive 33 from his 15 appearances.
Playing every match, he has kicked goals in all bar one game, managed multiple hauls nine times and is earning the respect of his coach.
"He's worth every cent we're paying him," Sanderson said following his side's 20.20 (140) to 9.18 (72) victory on Saturday that put the Crows in the top eight for the first time.
"He kicked another five today and he's just electric for us.
"He's a really difficult match-up and he's been really important for us throughout the entire season and again today he kicked some really important goals for us."
While Betts was earning plaudits, Taylor Walker struggled through a difficult day at Spotless Stadium.
Well contained by GWS defender Tim Mohr, Sanderson concedes his big key forward's body language also left plenty to be desired.
In his eighth game back from a long layoff due to a knee reconstruction, Walker was held to just three kicks and one behind.
"'Tex' looked a little bit down today," Sanderson said.
"He's so determined to play well for us and he's really keen to start hitting the scoreboard and he's had some really good games for us.
"But today his body language probably didn't look great.
"He looked like he was frustrated, but we'll certainly back him in and it's great to have him back in the team.
"He'll be back to his best next week I'm sure, but it was good we got a pretty even contribution from the team when it came to hitting the scoreboard."
Sanderson was also left counting the cost of an extended injury toll, with Patrick Dangerfield (knee), Ben Rutten (concussion), Daniel Talia (corked buttock) and Scott Thompson (leg) all suffering knocks.
He said it was too early to tell if the quartet would play in Friday night's crunch game against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval, although none of them appeared too serious.
Sanderson also wasn't thrilled with Saturday's performance, stating his side hadn't really "put the foot down" after building a 47-point lead at half-time.
But he could at least take some solace from moving into the top eight.
"We want to be in the eight at the end of the season," he said.
"I'm sure there's plenty of challenges from here on in and we just need to keep winning.
"That's our objective and we'll do everything we can to play well against Hawthorn next week.
"It's a challenge for our group with a few bumps and bruises, but we'll go back home and lick our wounds and look forward to our next opponent."
