Only a handful of players will be unavailable for selection for the start of Adelaide’s NAB Cup title defence at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.
Bernie Vince and Jared Petrenko are both likely to sit out the Crows’ opening-round matches against St Kilda and Port Adelaide as they continue to recover from shoulder injuries. Petrenko had reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder in October, while Vince had a 57 millimetre cyst removed from his shoulder blade in November.
Adelaide Physical Performance Manager Nick Poulos said the star pair was likely to return later in the NAB Cup.
“Bernie’s borderline for NAB Cup (round) one, but he’s likely to be kept out just as a precaution,” Poulos told afc.com.au.
“Pup (Petrenko) could be ready as early as the second round of the NAB Cup, but again we’ll take a conservative approach with him. Sando isn’t keen for us to rush guys back especially at this stage of the year. Initially, Pup was targeting a return in round one of the home and away season, so any games he plays before then are a bonus.
“Pup’s just getting used to contact again now. He’s been involved in match simulation and has been doing some controlled contact work. He’s gradually increasing the intensity and volume of that training, and you can see he’s gaining more confidence by the day.
“We don’t want to let him off the leash too early, but he’s progressing really well.”
Young Crows Sam Shaw (knee) and Nick Joyce (groin) will also miss the first round of NAB Cup action. Both players have been on modified programs since the Christmas break and are being eased back into full training.
“In terms of players in rehab, Sam and Joycey are – touch wood – the only two at the moment,” Poulos said.
“Sam’s had a bit of knee soreness and is probably a few weeks away from playing, but he's joining in parts of training now and we’ve got a plan to get him back with the team in the next couple of weeks.
“We’re also looking after Nick Joyce. He’s coming along really well, but it’s a sensitive injury and we want to make sure we’re right on top of it before he comes back.”
The Crows will take on the Saints in game one of the round-robin series, starting at 4:10pm. St Kilda and Port Adelaide will do battle in the second match (5:15pm start), before the Crows and Power go head-to-head in the third game at 6:20pm (All times are local).
Coach Brenton Sanderson said the team was itching to get back into games after a tough pre-season.
“There are always positive themes coming out of Clubs at this time of year, but our boys really are looking good,” Sanderson said.
“It’s hard to get a gauge on exactly because we’re always training against each other at this time of year, so we’re looking forward to finding out a bit more about where we’re at when we start playing games.
“We’ve nearly got a full squad. Touch wood, we keep the injury curse away and keep getting better.”
