Adelaide coach Don Pyke and his match committee face a “balancing act” between showing faith in players, and introducing fresh blood into the team this week.

After winning four of their first six games and competing strongly against premiership fancies North Melbourne and Hawthorn, the Crows have fallen away over the past fortnight.

A number of players, including midfielders Jarryd Lyons, Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Mitch Grigg, Dean Gore and Harrison Wigg, veteran defenders Nathan van Berlo and Andy Otten, and forward line recruit Troy Menzel, have been biding their time in the SANFL

Pyke said the Club faced a tough decision as to which players warranted another opportunity to redeem themselves against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s probably fair to say we expect to make a change or two, but we haven’t had match committee yet,” he said on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s a balancing act. Some of those guys played some really powerful and strong footy in the first part of the year.

“That will be a good discussion … as to what point do we feel the need to bring in some fresh faces and fresh blood.”

The Crows have lost the contested possession, clearance and inside 50m counts in their last two games, with a lack of midfield supply identified as one of the contributing factors.

Only one member of the Crows’ onball brigade – best and fairest winner Rory Sloane – won more than 25 possessions against Geelong on Friday night.

Pyke denied the midfield was the “sole reason” for his team’s troubles, but said the team needed a lift from its prime movers.

“It’s one of those things. It’s not like you go, ‘Let’s throw all these guys out’,” he said.

“There are some high-quality players and individuals in there. For one reason or another, they’re not performing at the level that they have in the past. We have a challenge as a coaching group to get them back up to that (level).

“One thing I’ve learned over the years is you don’t want to be negative against a group of players who have done a lot of positive things over their careers.

“There’s a point where they need to be backed in, and we’ll back them in – the guys we go with – to get the result we want on the weekend.”

Despite displaying inconsistent form, Adelaide has been in a position to win late in each of its last two games against the Western Bulldogs and Geelong.

Pyke was confident his side could recapture its best quickly.

“What we’re looking for as a team on Saturday is getting back to playing the style and brand of footy we know we’re capable of playing and we’ve played previously,” he said.

“It’s not that long ago. It’s not like we’re reaching back weeks and weeks. We’re not far away. Even on the weekend, whilst we didn’t play our best, we were within a kick 10 minutes into the last quarter.

“We’ve just got to get back to playing some of the footy we’re capable of. If we do that, the result will take care of itself.”

The Crows conceded 60 points from turnovers last Friday night to compared to Geelong’s 28.

Adelaide’s improved disposal efficiency was a feature of the first six rounds, and Pyke was optimistic his team’s errors weren’t part of a trend.

“Geelong’s pressure was really good, and how they set up forced some of those errors,” he said.

“They were uncharacteristic from what we’ve seen in the previous six or seven weeks. Some of those turnovers cost us scores and field position, which hasn’t been the way we’ve played.

“We’ve got to continue to be brave with the ball and take the game on.”