ADELAIDE coach Don Pyke insists the Crows aren't "broken" and don't need wholesale changes to their game style to remain a genuine premiership contender.
The Crows sit second on the ladder with a strong 8-3 win/loss record and the second-highest percentage in the competition ahead of Friday night's clash with St Kilda at Adelaide Oval.
However, they have lost three of their past five games, including a 22-point defeat at the hands of Geelong last Friday night at Simonds Stadium.
"Some perspective would be nice," Pyke said.
"I don't perceive there is anything really broken.
"We had a bad night.
"From a perspective viewpoint, we sit at eight and three on the ladder, we have a big game against St Kilda come Friday night and we're still playing good footy.
"I don't think there's anything there that needs to be repaired."
The Crows stormed out of the gates with six-straight wins before losses to North Melbourne and Melbourne put them back on their heels.
Massive victories over the Brisbane Lions (by 80 points) and Fremantle (by 100 points) appeared to get Pyke’s men back on track.
But they were smashed at the contest by the Cats and were unable to generate any run from their backline.
"I think there's a component there that when we're challenged, as we were against Melbourne and again on the weekend, we need to rise to that challenge," Pyke said.
"That's part of us getting better.
"When the scoreboard doesn't say what you want it to say, or when the contest is a fierce contest, our ability to rise and play at that level is important because we aspire to be a top-eight, top-four side, that's where we need to be stronger.
"The same 22 guys who played against Fremantle played against Geelong, and yet we'll agree it was quite a different level of performance.
"They didn't forget how to play in six days, we just didn't play to the level we want to play and we didn't play to the way we train and the way we understand that creates winning for us.
"Are they capable? Very much so.
"We don't sit at eight and three and not be capable.
"It's a long season and there's going to be ups and downs, and we had a down on Friday night."
Former Brisbane Lions star Jonathan Brown was one of several experts who have criticised the Crows for their lack of toughness.
"People are paid to have opinions," Pyke said.
"That's the landscape we operate in.
"I don't think you win eight games and be No.1 in contested footy if you're not capable of winning your share."
