The Crows, who kicked the first three goals of the game against the Saints, fell away after the first change and managed just three goals in the final three quarters.
A win over the third-placed Bulldogs would secure Adelaide a home final in the first week of September, but Craig said the method employed by his players on Saturday would be just as important as the result.
“We want to see a response from last week with the way we went about our footy,” Craig said on Friday.
“We were very disappointed and we should be because the way we went about it after quarter time was so far away from the way we want to play, the way we want to be perceived and our desired style of play.
“We need to correct that really quickly because it won’t be anywhere near good enough in finals. So, that’s our main focus tomorrow - to get back to playing our signature-type football.”
Craig, who has coached the Crows to four wins from their last five starts, refused to dismiss last weekend’s dismal display as an aberration, but said it was important not to over-analyse one single, out -of-character performance.
“I think, for us, it’s about recognition of a standard and is that [last week’s performance] the standard we expect of us? The clear answer from the playing group is ‘no’ and that’s the first and most important point,” Craig said.
“Rather than go into to many reasons [for the result] or into greater analysis, if the recognition is there, then let’s now go about putting into place the ways to fix it.
“It’s important to know, not only, why you lose, but also why you win and we think we’ve got a good understanding of what makes us, or gives us the opportunity to win on the scoreboard.”
The Western Bulldogs, who have not beaten the Crows at AAMI Stadium in seven years, arrived in Adelaide on Friday full of confidence having destroyed Essendon last week.
In round one, the Bulldogs won by just two points in skipper Brad Johnson’s 300th game. Adelaide’s Nathan Bock missed a late shot at goal to steal the match.
Craig was confident the Bulldogs’ style hadn’t changed much since that game, but maintained his team would be more focussed on their own actions.
“We certainly respect the Western Bulldogs’ consistency throughout the year and they obviously come into the finals series pretty confident with a good year record behind them,” Craig said.
“They are a very powerful running side and they’ve got a huge amount of talent in their side, so we understand the opposition we’ve got.
“But our main focus is to not worry too much [about the Bulldogs]. We respect them and understand what they can do, but if we don’t get that aspect [intensity] of our game in order, it won’t matter who we play.”
