NEWBORN twin girls and a return to form? Not a bad day for the Betts family.

Adelaide star Eddie Betts has struggled in recent weeks but had a noticeable spring in his step on Saturday night against St Kilda.

Playing at Etihad Stadium, he finished with three goals in the Crows' comfortable 49-point win over the Saints. It was revealed post-match his wife, Anna, had given birth to the couple's third and fourth children – twin girls – earlier that day in Adelaide.

The couple already have two boys.

SAINTS IN STRIFE: Full match details and stats

Adelaide coach Don Pyke said it was an event which caught everyone, Betts included, unawares.

"It wasn't planned to be today, to be honest. He was looking at early next week as a likely time, but when he got a phone-call from his wife this morning and said things are moving, you can't stop that," Pyke said.

"From there, the conversation I had with him was, 'What do you want to do?' and it was going to prove to be difficult to get back to Adelaide in time, so he was able to share the experience via FaceTime which was great."

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Betts had failed to kick a goal in the opening two rounds of the season for the first time in his lengthy career and had appeared to have lost some of his magic touch. But sparked by the arrival of two children, it was a different story against the Saints.

"Unfortunately, he couldn't get back there because of the speed in which it all happened, but you know, he's on a natural high," Pyke said.

The coach said the team "[got] away with a win" despite being under-par in the opening half, going into the long break 10 points ahead. It was a different Adelaide who took to the field in the third term, piling on six goals to blow the margin out to 40 points at the final change.

WATCH: Don Pyke's full post-match press conference

"The game we got was sort of what we expected. We knew St Kilda would be keen to rebound after last week, and it was a fairly contested and scrappy affair in the first half.

"To our guys' credit, they hung in there and played some better footy in the second half to get the result.

"We had a chat at half-time about what was happening and what we were feeling as a group. We just returned to being a bit more predictable, if you like, in how we wanted to move the ball to each other. That allowed us to get a bit more flow."

The Crows were without the ball-magnet Crouch brothers (Brad and Matthew), who are sidelined for at least a month with groin and hamstring injuries respectively.

"It gives an opportunity for guys like Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Hugh Greenwood – who probably weren't as strong tonight as they were last week for instance – but they're guys who are both 15 to 20-game players and they've both shown a lot in the time they've played," Pyke said.

"Then you've got Rory (Sloane) and Bryce (Gibbs) coming in as well, and Richie Douglas was back tonight. We brought him in for Matt Crouch this week, and from a midfield viewpoint, [it's] otherwise the same guys, and they're getting the job done, which is good."

With an interesting match-up against a rejuvenated Collingwood to come next Friday night at Adelaide Oval, Pyke said the Crows were unlikely to regain anyone from injuries.

"I think it'll be pretty much a continuation of the guys we've got. Our SANFL team are playing tomorrow (Sunday), so Curtly Hampton (who missed round two with a strained adductor) will likely play in that and then we'll see from there what it looks like for selection."