WEST Coast's 30-point win against Adelaide left coach Adam Simpson wanting more after relying on talent more than system to break away from the Crows at Optus Stadium.
Jack Darling's five goals in the second quarter were the difference on the scoreboard after four quarters, with the Crows cutting the margin to 17 points after half-time and winning the final term by five points.
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Simpson said there was a big gap between the team's best and worst on Sunday, paying credit to an Adelaide team that proved difficult to play against despite losing its fifth straight match.
"It wasn’t our cleanest game … we made the most of it through a bit of talent and a bit of system, but we think we can play better than that," Simpson said.
"We were really happy to get the win, don’t get me wrong, but I think we had too many basic skill errors, a couple of fumbles here and there, fundamentals.
"Our best was great today, but our worst looked quite vulnerable.
"The last couple of weeks before that has been more even. But Adelaide have got to take a lot of credit for that, they were really good."
Simpson said it was "fantastic" to have a player like Darling, who kicked five goals in the second quarter, but he didn't want the team to be reliant on outstanding individual performances.
"It’s great when we have players that can do that, and we’ll take it, because I thought Nic (Naitanui) and Tim Kelly were very good that quarter as well," the coach said.
"It’s just that having to rely on someone to get us back into the game single-handedly … we’d like to do it a bit more evenly if we could."
All-Australian forward Liam Ryan is set to return for next Sunday's clash against Greater Western Sydney at Giants Stadium, while defender Shannon Hurn has been ticked off to return from a calf injury and play his club record 291st match.
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said his team had been punished for a slight drop off in the second quarter but had been "in the fight" for long periods.
"We're getting lessons now, and it's been a month of lessons. But that's going to make our group better," the coach said.
"We sit here with a reasonably dejected change rooms, where young players are learning the hard way.
"The expectations are high. They are all competitive and they get to where they are at because of who they have been as junior footballers.
"We don't come here to finish second, we come to win and today we had chances to do that. The group is invested in what we're doing."
Nicks said star forward Taylor Walker would return after being managed for Sunday's match, while small forward Ned McHenry needed to tick some boxes on Tuesday to return from concussion.
He was pleased with the return of Chayce Jones in a defensive role and forward Darcy Fogarty, who won six contested possessions in the first quarter but missed two opportunities in front of goal in the second.