Adelaide midfielder David Mackay says his AFL side’s 135-point thumping of Greater Western Sydney will mean little if they don’t back it up this weekend.

The Crows host St Kilda on Sunday before a challenging month featuring fixtures against North Melbourne, Fremantle, Sydney and Richmond.

With only three wins from the opening seven rounds, Mackay said his club could not afford too many slip-ups in the run to September.

“Obviously, it hasn’t been the start we wanted. But last week, it felt like we turned the corner a little bit,” Mackay said.

“Hawthorn are a great side and we managed to challenge them, even though we probably didn’t play to our best.

“That was encouraging, as was the game against GWS.

“But the most important thing is we back it up over the next few weeks and make sure we continue the form.

“If we don’t, it (the win over GWS) doesn’t mean a whole lot.

“Because we’re in a situation where we can’t afford to drop too many games if we want to make the finals.”

The Crows swept the ball efficiently from end to end against the Giants, with a score of 29.13 (187) the devastating result.

“We were really happy with the way we moved the ball and our offensive stuff. It was just our defensive stuff was a little bit off,” said Mackay, one of 10 Crows to tally 20 possessions or more against GWS.

“(We were) just allowing them a little bit too much space. They took a lot of uncontested marks, which is not how we want to play.

“… Our problem this year hasn’t been our offensive stuff – it’s been the defensive side of our game.

“It’s something we’ll have to continue to work on.”

Tom Lynch kicked 10 goals on Sunday and combined well with Josh Jenkins (four goals) in the absence of spearhead Taylor Walker, who will miss the season with a knee injury.

“It’s not ideal losing him (Walker), but it gives opportunities to other guys,” Mackay said.

“Lynch and Jenkins are going to keep getting better the more they play together, and it’s pretty exciting.”