Adelaide Senior Coach Matthew Nicks isn’t shying away from the challenge St Kilda’s ruck duo poses.

The Crows take on St Kilda at home on Saturday night and the Saints have named Rowan Marshall and in-form veteran Patrick Ryder for the clash.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Nicks said youngster Riley Thilthorpe, who returns to the side for the first time since Round One, and Kieran Strachan would shoulder the ruck together.

Nicks was confident Thilthorpe, Strachan and Adelaide’s midfield were up for the battle.

“It’ll be a big challenge for us - Ryder and Marshall are two quality rucks,” Nicks said.

“But we really like Riley around the footy and actually believe at this point in time in his career he plays some of his best footy when he’s got a little bit more freedom to get around the ground.

“We’ll give him some time in the ruck and we’ll share that over the night with Strachan.

“We’ll give Strachany a really good crack at it again because he’s got weapons around the ground, also.”

“We’ll give him some time in the ruck and we’ll share that over the night with Strachan.

Nicks said the side was working hard to turn its form around.

“We want to play a brand of footy we are proud of,” Nicks said.

“When we are at our best we play that brand.

“We had patches during the game against Brissy where we felt we brought some of our best pressure and they were unfortunately at times, too good.”

The AFL will celebrate Sir Doug Nicholls Round this weekend, recognising and celebrating Indigenous players and their culture.

Nicks also revealed proud Kija and Jaru man and star forward Shane McAdam would go up to toss the coin with stand-in skipper Ben Keays against the Saints.

“It’s an incredibly important round of footy for us, so Shane will go up with Keasey to toss the coin and represent us,” Nicks said.

“We think it’s a fantastic opportunity for him.”

Adelaide takes on St Kilda in Sir Doug Nicholls Round at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, with the first bounce at 7pm.

The Crows will wear their Indigenous guernsey for the first time this year, following in the footsteps of the SANFL and AFLW teams, which have already donned the jumper in 2022.

Eastern Arrernte man Pat Caruso designed this year’s guernsey, which the Club officially launched in January.

Tickets to the game are still available here.