Forward Kurt Tippett is confident he is building towards his best football after coming back from a pre-season ankle injury.

Tippett went goalless in his first game back against Fremantle and kicked one goal in Showdown XXX against Port, but three majors on Saturday night against Carlton signalled a return to form.

He injured his ankle in the NAB Challenge game against the Blues in March and spent three weeks in a moon boot, missing the round one win over Hawthorn.

Tippett admits he made a tentative start to the season but is happy with his progress since returning.

“I feel like I’m getting to the level again where I want to play. I was very happy with my pre-season and the ankle injury came at a time when it was not ideal,” Tippett said.

“I knew coming back that I had to be kind to myself, I wasn’t going to be at my very best but I feel like I’m building.

“I was proud of the effort I put up against Carlton and I see more improvement to come. I look forward to building into the season.”

Adelaide responded to a slow start against the Blues, kicking 11 goals to six after quarter time, but failed to snatch the victory after leading by 11 points late in the game.

Neil Craig asked the playing group to respond after the loss to Port in round four and the effort after quarter time would have pleased the coach.

Craig spoke post-match about a “lack of poise” at crucial times and Tippett agreed that errors at various times of the match cost Adelaide the points.

“I thought some positives to come out of the game were our intensity and our energy,” Tippett said.

“It probably came down to a few technical execution errors when we weren’t able to put them away.

“Carlton have a speedy midfield and probably one of the quickest in the competition. I think after quarter time we were able to match them and take it to them.”

Much has been said about Neil Craig’s post-match comments describing the playing squad as one of the most exciting in the history of the club.

Tippett acknowledged that there is plenty of potential in the group but as an inexperienced side, they are still building towards the consistency in performance.

“I think it shows Neil has a lot of belief in the group. Talent wise and potential wise we are a very exciting group,” Tippett said.

“It’s about developing and improving together and becoming a hardened football side that is able to put up consistent performances week in and week out. The challenge for us is to get there as soon as we can and that’s what we’re working towards.

“We’re training very hard; we all understand it’s no good being a side full of guys with talent and potential. We want to be guys that fulfil that, so we feel the responsibility to get the best out of each other.”