THE hamstring strain to Adelaide superstar Eddie Betts, the latest in a long run of similar injuries to afflict the club, was in the same spot as the one he suffered two months ago.
In the round four loss to Collingwood, Betts hurt his left hamstring and the 31-year-old admitted to South Australian radio station 5AA that injury increased the likelihood of him being sidelined again.
"If you do one, it's a high risk you can do that same one again," Betts said.
He will miss a month this time around.
The three-time All Australian was not overly concerned when he left the ground against the Pies, though he missed the following two matches.
"I actually didn't even do it. I just felt tight through that hamstring. I felt like I was cramping a little bit and so I went off and got it assessed," Betts said.
He was philosophical about the prospect of missing a critical stretch after the bye, with premiership contenders West Coast, Richmond and Geelong the Crows' next three opponents.
"When I went to go smother (against Hawthorn) I felt a little twitch. That's life. Now I have to move on," Betts said.
The club has removed parts of its muscle-strengthening program after Taylor Walker, Matt Crouch and Wayne Milera were among those to suffer hamstring injuries earlier this season.
At 6-7 and with an injury list including Brad Crouch (groin), Mitch McGovern (ankle) and Brodie Smith (knee), Adelaide faces a tough task to make finals again.
Betts said the key was playing for each other.
"If someone's going to go in and do a tackle, we trust them to get that job done. If someone misses that tackle, that has a flow-on effect. They break that tackle, then they go down, score a goal, and then it just drains you," Betts said.
"We're not working together, blocking for each other.
"It's just not the same as it was last year, so we've got to start to bring that back."
Doing that will see the Crows enjoy their football more.
"I want to start winning again because winning creates a fun environment. I'm not saying it's not fun down there now, it still is fun, but as you're losing and you keep losing, it drains you and it can bring the group down," Betts said.
"We're trying to stay as positive as we can be.
"We need to get that winning feeling back again and keep the joy and bubble around the club and on the ground as well, because I think 'Tex' (Walker) said it after the game, we're not playing for each other.
"We're letting each other down and it's no fun."
