Adelaide coach Neil Craig says he hasn't "lost" his players in the wake of their 96-point AFL drubbing by Melbourne.

The Crows languish in 12th spot with two wins for the season and further injury concerns heading into a home match against Gold Coast on Saturday.

Asked if he had lost his players, Craig said: "Not at all.

"As a coach, you always ask that question," he told Adelaide radio station 5AA.

"But this playing group, no.

"Have I asked the question, absolutely, of course you do.

"You sort of ask that after every loss.

"But I'm really confident that I know where this playing group is going."

Main midfielder Scott Thompson is battling a calf injury while fellow onballer Patrick Dangerfield was concussed during a loss to the Demons which Craig described as "one of our worst efforts for many years".

The defeat was Adelaide's heaviest since 2004 when walloped by 141 points by Brisbane, four games after Craig was appointed caretaker coach.

The Melbourne thrashing, coming a week after Adelaide's fighting win over last year's beaten grand finalist St Kilda, puzzled Craig.

"It would be lovely to know the answer," he said.

"I guess the key thing for us was it was pretty much through the whole group.

"That is probably of one our worst performances for many years and I certainly didn't see it coming ... the players are bitterly disappointed with what we served up on the weekend.

"Our challenge now is to get back and try and recapture some of the form we have been able to demonstrate this year."

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