Erin Phillips has made a blistering return to the AFLW competition and said Adelaide’s “belief is back” following a thrilling seven-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.

With Adelaide entering the Round 3 match with two losses, Phillips announced her return from a quad strain with four goals, one in each quarter, to get the Crows over the line at Norwood Oval.

The highlight from the Crows co-captain was a snap from the boundary in the last quarter when the game was in the balance.

Phillips said it had been difficult watching from the sidelines the past two weeks.

“I much prefer being on the field when you can actually have some control of what is going on,” Phillips said with a laugh.

“I love coming to training every single day with these girls, to run out on the field with them is awesome.”

Phillips said she was “really proud” of the team and their resilient nature.

“The girls came out huge today after two losses, so to get that belief back is awesome,” she said.

“We all knew we had to lift, when you do lose two in a row, this is a short season and you can’t wait for ‘oh we’ll be right in a couple of weeks’, you’ve got to fix it now.

“To have those girls lift and girls around the ground being one or two per cent better from last week is all we want, and everyone played their role today, it was fantastic.

“They rallied together and found a way to win in some really hot conditions against a great team.”

Phillips spent most of the game one out in the forward 50, while the team’s usual full forward Sarah Perkins was thrown into the midfield where she provided great presence.

“With the quad, I had to limit how much running I was doing today. I felt quite comfortable down there and switching with Perko, it worked,” Phillips said.

“Hopefully we keep doing that.”

The 32-year-old added her quad felt “really good” post-match.

Others in the AFLW industry responded to Phillips’ performance, noting the effect she could have for the rest of the season.

"I would like to see what Erin can produce at 100 per cent with a year of footy,” Western Bulldogs coach Paul Groves said in his post-match press conference.

“If that's her at 65, 70 per cent with her quad, god help everyone.”