Pyke’s club has been widely panned for a lacklustre performance in a loss to the Cats which had cost the Crows top spot on the ladder.

“We played poorly. But some perspective would be nice,” Pyke told reporters yesterday.

“I don’t perceive there is anything really broken, to be honest.

It’s not like you sit here being able to train two game plans

“We had a bad night. And, as I said from the perspective viewpoint, we sit at eight (wins) and 3 (losses) on the ladder.

“We’re still playing good footy so I don’t think there is really anything there that needs to be repaired.”

After winning six consecutive games to start the season, the Crows have lost three of their past five matches.

But Pyke dismissed criticism of being inflexible as a coach and unwilling to swing changes during the defeats.

“That is an interesting question and dilemma in terms of what is actually a side’s DNA and how they play,” he said.

“I look at all the successful sides, not only in AFL footy but in world sports and… there’s a real consistency about how they go about it.

“It’s not like you sit here being able to train two game plans.

“We have a way we want to play and that is why we need to be flexible within that but we also need to be consistent through the phases of the game.

“And I think the best teams are capable of doing that consistently, not necessarily thinking that chopping and changing is the answer.”

Pyke said Adelaide defender Luke Brown would miss Friday night’s fixture against St Kilda after having surgery on Tuesday on a fractured cheekbone.

But he discounted making a raft of changes to his side, who a week before the Geelong loss hammered Fremantle by 100 points.

“That is the weird thing: the same 22 guys that played against Fremantle played against Geelong and yet we would all agree it was quite a different level of performance,” Pyke said.

“They didn’t forget how to play in six days. They just didn’t play to the level we want.”

-AAP