Tex proves his power with monster goal

Adelaide Crows captain Tex Walker booted a monster goal against Hawthorn last night.

The six-foot-five forward proved he has one of the biggest boots in the competition with the perfect strike after marking 55 metres from goal.

The goal late in the second half extended the Crows lead over the Hawks, but they'd be eventually run down by the cellar dwellers.

Don Pyke blamed poor skills cruelled the Crows in their shock 14-point loss to Hawthorn on Thursday night.

Adelaide cling to top spot ahead of weekend games but they have lost four of their past seven fixtures.

Pyke rejected any thought of complacency as a factor or the bye - the Crows and Hawthorn were both resuming after a week off.

"I am not going down the path of the bye being the reason," Pyke said.

"But it was a very disappointing night all round ... it was quite off."

Pyke said Adelaide's slack skills were uncharacteristic in a loss which is a setback to the club's bid to consolidate at the top.

"It's not ideal," Pyke said.

"We obviously set ourselves for the second half of the season and this is a poor way to start it.

"We have got to regroup pretty quickly ... and clearly play and perform better than we did."

But Pyke ruled out swinging huge selection changes in response to the defeat.

"We will keep faith with the group. The group has got us to this point now," he said.

"The reality is in this competition, if you don't bring fundamentals in a really strong sense and don't play those for four quarters, you're going to be in trouble."

With AAP