ADELAIDE captain Jordan Dawson has been hailed by coach Matthew Nicks for his ability to stand up in the big moments yet again, with the star midfielder securing an important win against West Coast with his incredible football IQ on Friday night. 

Dawson fought through attention at Optus Stadium to have an equal game-high 27 disposals, nine inside 50s and a goal, but it was his efforts behind the ball late in the third quarter and through the fourth that ensured the Crows held off the Eagles. 

Nicks said the 29-year-old had exercised his license to go where he is needed, shaping the game in the fourth quarter and ensuring it became a contested slog when the Eagles built early momentum. 

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"On and off field, [he is] just an outstanding leader. His football IQ is at another level and he knows where the team needs him at different times. He's got a certain license to play and feel the game out," Nicks said after the 25-point win. 

"When he started to feel momentum, he was able to make a real leader's decision and put himself where we needed him. 

"There's things that we have pre-game set up, but there's also moments in games where he just feels the game and makes a decision himself, and he's often ahead of us (coaches) where we'll see him set up.

"We're pleased to have him as the leader of our footy club … these are the sort of players you need to take that next step."

Adelaide responded to last week's Showdown loss emphatically in the first quarter, kicking seven of the first eight goals of the game and racing to a 43-point lead in the second term on the back of stoppage dominance. 

The tables turned in the fourth quarter, however, and West Coast mounted a charge with the first 13 inside 50s of the term, cutting the margin to 18 points. 

Nicks said there was some frustration at how the game was played, but his team did what was needed to secure a 10th win for the season, moving up to fifth on the ladder and just percentage short of fourth-placed Brisbane. 

"When we talk about slogging it out, that's really what we went to. We were forced into that game in the last quarter," the coach said. 

"We're frustrated about the way the game was played, especially through that second half. (But) occasionally you've got to go to that, and you get what you deserve. 

"We weren't competing at the level we needed to, so we changed some structure … and we went to a little bit more of a game that we thought we might be able to stay in the fight, and in the end it got the job done. 

"We didn't come over here to necessarily play pretty footy and try and entertain. We came to win. We'd love to entertain at the same time, but we did that for maybe the first 10 minutes of the game, and unfortunately it was a bit of a slog after that."

Nicks said star forward Riley Thilthorpe had fallen ill on Friday morning, with the club unsure if he had suffered food poisoning or a virus before he was pulled out of the team an hour before the start of the game. 

The All-Australian goalkicker was replaced by wingman Billy Dowling, with the Crows hopeful he will return for next Saturday night's clash against Gold Coast at Adelaide Oval. 

"We're not sure whether Riley's eating something or whether it's a virus, but he went down pretty quickly this morning," Nicks said, with the Crows due to fly home on Saturday. 

"I'm pretty sure he's out cold trying to sleep it off, but hopefully this is something sharp and quick that rips through him, and then he's OK to go next week. 

"We won't put anyone else in harm's way, or any of the players. Maybe he stays for 24 hours, I don't know."

West Coast coach Andrew McQualter was left to rue the first 10 minutes of the game, with his team able to fight back into a competitive position thereafter but leaving itself too much work to do late. 

The difference in the game was the Crows' ability to kick five goals to zero from centre ball-ups, winning the centre clearances 18-8 for the match and 7-1 in the first quarter. 

Premiership star Elliot Yeo had a quiet night, attending 21 centre ball-ups but then pushing forward and finishing with seven disposals and one clearance, with McQualter backing him to rediscover his form. 

"Sometimes that happens. Yeoy has been a very good player for a long period of time. He had a down night tonight, but he's a competitive person, we'll find a way to get him to bounce back and recapture his best form," the coach said. 

"[His role] was not too dissimilar to how he's played for most of the year, to be fair, but we didn't get as much territory in this game. 

"Our entries up to three quarter time (26-49) was not enough … so we just need to keep finding the best way to maximize Yeoy and his strengths."

McQualter was pleased for star forward Jake Waterman after his goalkicking form returned with 3.0, while mid-season draftee Oliver Francou impressed on debut with 18 disposals and nine tackles. 

"He's going to learn a lot. He's still so raw in his game, and he hasn't played a heap of footy over the last couple of years, but we believed we got a really good player when we drafted Ollie, and I thought it was a great start to his AFL career," McQualter said. 

"We trusted him in [the midfield]. That's why we played him. We've seen enough evidence this year that we think he's strong in that space."