DON PYKE concedes his Adelaide side is performing below expectations after the Crows suffered their third loss from the past four matches.

The Crows entered Sunday's clash at home against Greater Western Sydney as warm favourites, but failed to match the Giants across four quarters and fell by 16 points.

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The loss leaves Adelaide out of the top eight with a 6-5 record at the halfway mark of the season.

"I think we are going alright without being great," Pyke said.

"We'd be expecting more than we are at the moment. We've got some work to do."

The club has been praised for its ability to perform with a long list of injuries but Pyke concedes it's taking its toll

"Probably with the exception of our back six or seven most of our group has been a little bit lacking that continuity," he said.

"We've got to hang in – we've got to make sure we get some wins on the board and give ourselves the chance to move forward."

WATCH: Don Pyke's full post-match media conference

Pyke did find some praise for his players after a significantly improved performance on last week's disaster against Melbourne in Alice Springs.

But poor finishing played a part in the result with the Crows unable to make the most of 57 inside 50s, while Richard Douglas kicked 2.4, Eddie Betts 2.2 and Josh Jenkins 1.3.

"I wasn’t sitting at the end of the game questioning their effort I just thought we missed some opportunities with the ball which we would normally take," he said.

"At the moment the way we are moving the ball is a little bit less adventurous than it has been in the past, that’s something we’ll look at."

Pyke said defensive lapses, particularly in the first half, were costly as well.

"In the second quarter we conceded too many easy goals which cost us and if you look at the game overall, the second quarter was pretty telling in terms of losing momentum."