AFTER two straight losses, it was just the response Adelaide coach Don Pyke was hoping for.
The Crows thumped a depleted Gold Coast by 75 points on Saturday to solidify their spot in the eight following losses to the Western Bulldogs and Geelong.
Despite the Suns' injury woes and a game that was all but over by half-time, Adelaide didn't take its foot off the accelerator – save for 10 or so minutes in the final term.
Pyke said he was most pleased his team didn't deviate from its game plan and shared the workload.
"It was a game where we needed a bit of a response from how we played the last couple of weeks. I thought as a group that they did that," Pyke said.
"The way we want to play is the same from start to finish.
"That was certainly the message throughout the course of the game. To the players' credit, I thought they did.
"Some of our stuff in the last quarter probably wasn't the level in terms of execution but we didn't divert too much.
"We saw some positive signs today."
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Pyke said the Crows had identified their lack of run-and-spread in the past fortnight as an area that needed to improve, and they did just that.
No worries for Mitch McGovern. #AFLSunsCrows https://t.co/qslGQGRx2H
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Whenever the Suns made a mistake, the half-backs were there to pounce, and led by Brodie Smith (24 disposals), Ricky Henderson (23) and Paul Seedsman (21), they transferred the ball quickly to give the forwards ample opportunities.
And despite Eddie Betts going goalless, the Crows had 13 separate goalkickers, led by skipper Taylor Walker's five.
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"I've said the last two or three weeks that he has been working his way back," Pyke said of Walker.
"It was pleasing for him to get that sort of gain because I know the work he has been doing and he will continue to get better.
"When we've won we've generally had a really even contribution, that stood out again today, we had guys who had impact on the game at various stages."