Young midfielder Aidan Riley will play his first game of the season against Gold Coast on Saturday.
Riley is one of three changes to the Crows team to take on the Suns, with promising onballer Brad Crouch and veteran defender Brent Reilly also recalled. The trio replaces David Mackay, Ian Callinan and Shaun McKernan, who have been omitted.
A tough, inside ball winner, Riley has played 10 AFL games; the last against Sydney in last year’s Qualifying Final. The 21-year-old impressed over the summer, but a groin injury early in the season hampered his chances of breaking into the Adelaide side in the opening rounds.
Coach Brenton Sanderson said the former NSW Scholarship holder had earned his opportunity.
“Aidan Riley’s form for Sturt has been really good, so he’ll come in and play in the midfield,” Sanderson said.
Brent Reilly returns after being omitted from the side to play Richmond before the bye. Sanderson said Reilly had impressed on the training track over the break.
“Radar (Reilly) hasn’t played since he was omitted, so we’ll cop some criticism for that but he’s done two solid weeks of training,” he said.
“He had a slight back injury, which he’s overcome. He’s lost a little bit of weight and looks a bit sharper.”
Crouch will play just his fifth game of AFL at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.
“Crouchy is just too-good a young talent to leave out for long,” Sanderson.
“He’s had an issue with his running, but he’s working on that. We’ve got to keep exposing him to AFL games. We’ve brought some experience back in with Reilly. A good contested ball player in Aidan Riley and Crouchy, who is one of our best young kids.”
In the absence of McKernan, the Crows will field a smaller forward line.
“Shaun’s a bit stiff. Our inability to lock the ball in our forward half has been a problem, so we need players who can tackle, pressure and chase,” Sanderson said.
“We’ve played with two rucks in six of the last seven games. It just means Josh Jenkins will have to do some ruck work too. We’re looking for a smaller, more dynamic, running forward line.”
Mackay and Callinan will both line up for their respective SANFL clubs on the weekend.
“It’s the first time D-Mac (Mackay) has been omitted since his debut season. He’s nearly at 100 games, but he’s one who’s been struggling to recapture his form from last year and he’ll play for South Adelaide,” Sanderson said.
“Callinan is very classy when he gets the ball, but his numbers have been right down on last year. We still expect him to play plenty of good footy for us this year. When he’s in form, we’ll play him.”
Sanderson said Mitch Grigg, Jarryd Lyons and Richard Tambling were also on the verge of selection.
“Griggy has been in good form. He’s getting plenty of the ball for Norwood and will be a good player for us. Jarryd Lyons and Tambling were also very close.”
The team is:
B: Rory Laird, Ben Rutten, Andy Otten
HB: Brodie Smith, Daniel Talia, Brent Reilly
C: Matthew Jaensch, Bernie Vince, Rory Sloane
HF: Nathan van Berlo, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch
F: Scott Thompson, Ricky Henderson, Jason Porplyzia
RUCKS: Sam Jacobs, Patrick Dangerfield, Richard Douglas
INT: Luke Brown, Brad Crouch, Aidan Riley, Matthew Wright
EMERG: Richard Tambling, David Mackay, Shaun McKernan
IN: Brad Crouch, Brent Reilly, Aidan Riley
OUT: Ian Callinan, Shaun McKernan, David Mackay (omit)
