Seventh on the ladder with three wins and a draw, Kangaroos captain Adam Simpson acknowledged that, because of the weekend off, players and coaches were forced to dwell on what was lacking against the Crows.
However, he was surprised by the outside reaction to the club's efforts, with a fourth quarter fight-back keeping the margin to 33 points.
Adelaide led by 59 points at the final change.
"[We're] probably one win off where I hoped we'd be, heading into the break," he said on Tuesday. "I reckon the game for us last week was swept under the carpet a little bit.
"There was another game on that Saturday night, I think it might have been the Richmond-St Kilda game. It was a tight game, exciting, and our game was on Foxtel and we were pantsed.
"We were hurting a bit from that and we've had to sit on that for two weeks, so we're hoping to get back on track this week.
"[Dean Laidley's] had two weeks to sit on it as well," he added, confirming the ire of his coach.
"We've got to pull our finger out this week."
The general break for the Hall of Fame Tribute Match was one the 32-year-old was initially unsure about but he's happy with how he's pulled up.
Simpson was named in Victoria's 40-man squad, but missed out when the list was culled to 30.
"My body's going alright," he said. "I think when you get a bit older and you have a break, it might do a bit more harm than good.
"You get into a bit of a routine and you're used to getting up every week and sometimes when you actually have a break, you realise how sore you are and how old you are.
"The body's alright and it's actually not too bad having a break this time of the year. I don't suppose they do it every year, but having two breaks you might see a better spectacle I suppose."
