Adelaide Captain Jordan Dawson prefers to let his football do the talking rather than listen to the outside noise.

The Crows entered their clash against Carlton off the back of a tough loss to Fremantle, and with his side lacking consistency, Dawson knew he needed to stand up.

In a true, complete captain’s performance, Dawson set the tone from the first bounce, amassing 11 disposals in the first term.

He went on to finish with 22 touches, nine score involvements, six clearances and three goals in the 60-point win.

Despite collecting 21 disposals last week, Dawson conceded his on-ground influence wasn’t where he wanted it to be and said it was important to return to strong form.

“I try not not to listen too much to the outside noise, but I think the past few weeks I haven’t been playing the way I want to play,” Dawson told AFC Media.

“I like to think I’m a pretty proud footballer and I want to perform and execute my role for the team.

“That was my main focus, to have a clear mind on what I am doing and what I need to do in every moment of the game.

“To be able to impact the way I did was all based on that.”

Adelaide’s dominant display against Carlton started in the middle, winning the ruck battle 45 hit-outs to 19, and the clearances (38-30).

The Crows also claimed the inside-50 count, 56-38.

Dawson said the focus after the loss to the Dockers was on team-first footy, with each player knowing the role they needed to play.

“Nicksy touched on it as well, our ability to just execute our role,” Dawson said.

“It was something we didn’t do last week and that’s why the game kind of felt like it was out of our hands because we weren’t playing the way we know we can.

“It’s just always coming back to our role and what you need to be doing.

“There’s going to be times where you struggle throughout games, so it’s about helping your teammates get through that, bringing the pressure, the hunt and executing your role when you need to.”

The match had plenty of memorable moments, including the three goals booted by the Skipper.

But Dawson said the goal veteran defender Brodie Smith kicked in the final quarter was the icing on a strong, team performance.

“He’s such a loved figure at the Club, we love having him in the team,” Dawson said.

“His ability to come in and play so well, execute his role and also get on the end of a goal was great and you can see how much he’s loved by his teammates.

“I wish I was on the field at that point, but everyone got around him, and I’m really happy for him.”