A lack of effort wasn’t a contributing factor in Adelaide’s 16-point loss to Greater Western Sydney, according to midfielder Sam Gibson.

Fundamental skill errors were extremely costly, however, resulting in the Crows leaving Adelaide Oval on Sunday without the four premiership points.

Adelaide won many of the key indicators, including clearances (+12), inside 50s (+4) and contested possessions (+19), but also had a round-low disposal efficiency of 65.8 per cent, well below their season average of 72.2 per cent.

Efficiency by foot was just 59.3 per cent, with turnovers providing the source of more than half of the Giants’ score (seven goals, eight behinds). 

“A lot of it’s just basic skill errors. The good thing is that there’s a lot of effort there,” Gibson told afc.com.au post-game.

“You’re in trouble when you’re not bringing effort, but we brought effort tonight. We probably let ourselves down in that second quarter when they got a bit of a run-on.

“There’s a few basic things we aren’t quite doing well at the moment, so we’re going to have to go back to the track this week, try and correct those things and get back on the horse.” 

Sitting at 6-5 and just outside the top eight on percentage, the Crows now face one of the toughest road trips in footy with a journey to Perth to tackle Fremantle at Optus Stadium next Sunday.

Gibson said his side won’t dwell too much on the loss to the Giants, moving onto the next task at hand after a game review on Monday.

“It’ll probably be a bit of a lighter week on the track,” he said.

“We’ll fix up a few of our basic fundamentals during the week, chat about a few things and move on pretty quick."

Gibson has played the last three games in the tricolours after missing the opening eight weeks of the season through injury.

The 32-year-old recorded a season-high 25 disposals against the Giants and has quickly regained his conditioning whilst finding his feet in the Crows’ engine room.

“The beauty of missing that early part of the year is that I’m probably fresher than most having had those eight weeks off so my body’s feeling really good,” Gibson said.

“I feel like the synergy’s there. I’ve felt like I’ve always known how to play having trained so much of the preseason, but it’s good to be out there and actually playing with the boys.”