ADELAIDE midfielder Bernie Vince admits his side has been 'slack' at stoppages, but says Sunday's performance against Greater Western Sydney proves the club is back on track.
The Crows' midfield dominance against the Giants in the 135-point triumph was illustrated by winning the clearance count at centre stoppages and around the ground.
They also managed 67 inside 50s.
Vince said Adelaide's midfielders had become lazy at times over the last few weeks but that they were back to their best – a great sign for the remainder of the season.
"We're pretty slack in the way of our setups during some stoppages over the past few weeks," he said.
"We know we're on when we're setting up well; you can see guys pointing and communicating … and that's just an area that had been down a bit."
With umpires throwing up the ball around the ground in 2013 rather than taking extra time to bounce it, players have less time to get to stoppages than they have had in the past.
Vince said the speed of stoppages in today's game made it harder for clubs to get their structures right.
"The umpires are throwing it straight up now, so it can all happen pretty quick.
"It does make it a little bit tougher because sometimes the ball moves that quick – it can be in the back pocket and a few seconds later there's a stoppage in the forward pocket."
The 27-year-old said the next month of football would decide whether Adelaide played finals this year, with a series of tough games before its round 13 bye.
The Crows face St Kilda (home), North Melbourne (Etihad Stadium), Fremantle (home) and the Sydney Swans (home), before taking on Richmond at the MCG.
Just as wins over the Swans, Geelong, Carlton and Fremantle helped propel the preliminary final-bound club into the second half of the season last year, a string of victories would see them right in finals contention by their mid-season break.
"The next month can really shape our year so it's going to be a very important four weeks for us," Vince said.
"We've got some pretty tough games coming up … we've got North Melbourne in Melbourne and then we've got Sydney here, which is going to be tough.
"It's going to really shape where we finish this year so it's super-important for us."
Vince has steadily returned to form after being dropped to the SANFL earlier in the season and played his best game of the year against the Giants. He had 26 disposals and two goals in the mammoth win and said he felt his touch was gradually returning.
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