Adelaide’s selection panel is set to face one of its toughest calls ahead of the clash against the Western Bulldogs, according to Senior Coach Matthew Nicks.
Midfielder/forward Izak Rankine is expected to be named in the team after missing the Crows’ Round One win against Collingwood due to suspension.
But it will result in Nicks and his coaching cohort making a call on who to leave out for this weekend’s game, despite the strong performance across the board against the Magpies.
“It’s a really tough one that we actually at this point in time don’t exactly know who’s going to come out,” Nicks said.
“It’s going to be one of the toughest calls we make, but a really positive call.
“Whoever that player is knows how important they still are for our group. This is where we want to be, we want to have these decisions to make rather than injury causing us to make changes.”
Adelaide is preparing for a “red-hot” battle with the Western Bulldogs, who are coming off an 81-point victory against the Giants.
“They’re in some red-hot form, they’re the in-form team of the comp after some really strong weeks against high quality opposition,” Nicks said.
“(There’s) challenges all over the ground. We go from playing against a team that’s got (Nick) Daicos in it, to one with (Marcus) Bontempelli.
“He’s probably in some of the best form we’ve seen, so there’s big challenges for us, especially behind the ball with some of the strengths they’ve got down there.
“(Teams are) playing a little bit stronger offensively now, especially the Bulldogs, who are really strong in that space.”
But the Crows will take confidence from the last time the two teams met - at Marvel Stadium in Round 18, 2025 - Adelaide won by 11 points, thanks in part to a six-goal haul from Riley Thilthorpe.
“Last time we played the Bulldogs, Bevo and I were on AFL360 last night talking through it… We were at our best last time,” Nicks said.
“That was probably one of the games we look back on as really kicking us off as far as our contest went.
“We came away from that being really proud of what we put out there against a very good contest team.
“We know what’s coming this Friday night. They’ll be fired up, they’ll be ready to make amends for that.”
Adelaide faces the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval on Friday at 7.10pm.
