New Adelaide boss Phil Walsh tells his club to take a collective cold shower after Sunday’s dreamy 77-point demolition of North Melbourne.

Walsh’s head coaching career debut was highlighted by a Taylor Walker special in the Crows’ 21.14 (140) to 9.9 (63) victory at Adelaide Oval.

“It’s round one. We all need just to take a little bit of a cold shower,” Walsh said.

“That gives us great confidence, albeit that is a very small sample size – it’s one game.”

Walsh heaped praise on new captain Walker, who potted 6.5 and had two goal assists, 15 marks, 21 disposals and seven inside 50s.

“What did he have, 11 shots at goal or something?,” Walsh said.

“He played team footy. It was a great captain’s game.”

Walker orchestrated an opening-half blitz: nearing halftime, the Crows led by 69 points and the key forward had already slotted three goals and taken 12 marks.

His feats helped the Crows to a defining 12.10 to 3.1 halftime advantage.

The Kangaroos briefly rallied with four consecutive goals in the third term to get within 30 points, but Walker then stirred his troops en route to a resounding triumph.

Walker feasted on offerings from his midfield colleagues Richard Douglas (31 disposals), Rory Sloane (26 possessions), Patrick Dangerfield (25 touches) and Brodie Smith (22 disposals).

And Walsh deployed Eddie Betts with devastating impact: usually anchored in a forward pocket, the livewire spent much time in the midfield and gathered 21 disposals to complement his four goals.

The Crows also stifled North Melbourne’s attack, with the exception of ex-Western Bulldog Shaun Higgins who banked four goals on debut for his new club.

But Roos coach Brad Scott refused to even rate Higgins’ display as a positive – according to the boss, there were none.

“We fumbled like I have never seen us fumble in my time as coach of North Melbourne, kicking efficiency was horrific,” Scott said, describing the performance as an indictment on his players.