Adelaide assistant coach Nathan van Berlo has praised the Crows for playing hard, tough footy on Saturday night against Carlton.

Brodie Smith (37 disposals) and Rory Laird (32 possessions) led the way in the Crows’ 29-point victory against the Blues at Adelaide Oval.

Speaking to the media on Monday, van Berlo said he was pleased to see the players rewarded for their hard work.

“To (win) against a quality outfit in Carlton at home was really important for us and it should give our boys even more belief than what they’ve currently got,” van Berlo said

“To the boys’ credit, they had a real appetite for the contest right from the get go. 

“They embraced the conditions, we were really clear on what our game plan was going into the game with some key roles within that game plan.

“They went about it and played a real tough, hard brand of footy, which we’ve known about with our ability to compete and contest.”

Van Berlo said the side had focused on getting its start right against Carlton following a disappointing first quarter against the Swans the week prior.

“We did address the Sydney first quarter strongly last week and also reiterated what we did really well in the back three quarters and tried to replicate that into this week,” van Berlo said

“But it was pleasing to start like that on the weekend (against Carlton).

“We'll go through why and what makes us perform the way we did, recognise specific roles and things that got the game on our terms and try and replicate it again.

“It just shows we are heading in the right direction and our best is more than good enough to compete with anyone.”

The assistant coach said the side would now look to continue its strong form against West Coast in Perth on Sunday.

“Our challenge now is consistency of performance over four quarters again this week,” van Berlo said.

“We are always going to look to improve and get better and this week will be no different.

“We’ll review the positives and look at ways we can get better.”