Adelaide are back in the AFL winner's circle but coach Phil Walsh knows his team must do better than their 41-point victory over Gold Coast to stay there.
The Suns, down to just 24 senior players after a raft of injuries and suspensions, were gutsy but lacking in polish against a Crows outfit which cruised to a 18.11 (119) to 11.12 (78) win.
In-form goalsneak Eddie Betts claimed five goals for the second straight week, lifting his season tally to 20 in the Coleman Medal race.
Crows captain Taylor Walker is on 18 for the season after his four goals on Saturday night, while Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Lynch both kicked two each for the visitors.
After conceding the opening goal of the match, the Crows hit back with five straight goals to take a stranglehold they wouldn't relinquish.
The Suns threatened a fightback in the second half but inaccurate kicking and poor decision-making ensured the Crows bounced back after their back-to-back losses to the Western Bulldogs and Port Adelaide.
However, Walsh said it was far from the Crows team which began the season with three straight wins.
"Our skills, I think, are still a work in progress," Walsh said.
"Our kick inside 50 was a little bit better today, we didn't make some of the mistakes we'd made before, but a couple of our turnovers were pretty disappointing as well I thought."
The Crows will also be sweating on the fitness of star midfielder Rory Sloane, who was subbed out in the third quarter after suffering a knock to his face.
Sloane will undergo scans this week to determine whether he has sustained any fractures to his cheekbone.
Injuries are at the heart of the Suns' woes, with captain Gary Ablett (shoulder), fellow ace on-ballers David Swallow and Jaeger O'Meara (knees), defender Nick Malceski (knee), young gun Jack Martin (ankle) and key forward Sam Day (elbow) all sidelined.
With defender Steven May suspended and Harley Bennell, Trent McKenzie, Danny Stanley and Brendon Matera forced to watch from the stands after breaching a team alcohol protocol, it was always going to be tough for the Suns to field a competitive side.
In-form forward Charlie Dixon, who kicked six goals against Brisbane last week, booted three majors while Alex Sexton and Dion Prestia were among the home team's standout performers.
Several simple errors, punctuated by a number of slack kicks from ruckman Zac Smith, were telling, and coach Rodney Eade admitted as much.
"Overall I was pretty pleased with the effort," Eade said.
"When we're picking a team like we had to, we had to take our chances to give ourselves a chance of winning and we weren't able to do that.
"There were a lot of positives ... just at times, obviously, the talent difference told."
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