Kuwarna will be looking to make it three wins on the trot as it hosts North Melbourne in a Sir Doug Nicholls Round clash at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon. 

Senior Coach Matthew Nicks spoke to the media prior to main training on Wednesday, about the following topics. 

Walker "ambitiously optimistic” about a return 

Kuwarna all-time leading goalkicker Taylor Walker is an outside chance to return from a hamstring injury for the clash against North Melbourne.

Nicks said he and the 36-year-old would discuss their options after the Club’s main training session on Wednesday.

“I’d say it’s ambitiously optimistic (Tex plays), he’s hungry and he’s a competitor and he wants to play,” Nicks said.

“The reality of it is we’ll have a look today, I think it will end up being a 14-day hamstring (if he does get up), which is a stretch so we’ll just try and get that one right.

“I can honestly tell you that nothing has been locked in, probably leaning towards maybe not because of the importance of Taylor to our group for the remainder of the season.

“The player knows their body, especially someone as experienced as Taylor, so we’re going to have a conversation.”

The latest on Fogarty and Ah Chee

Experienced duo Darcy Fogarty and Callum Ah Chee both made successful returns from injury with the Club’s SANFL team against Sturt last Saturday.

Nicks said the pair had put themselves in the frame for a return to the AFL side, with a final decision yet to be made.

“They both got a great hit-out last weekend, from a team point of view our guys didn’t perform where they wanted to, but if you look at the impact they both had, they both impacted the game really well,” Nicks said.

“Cal’s history is going to come into it, since he’s been with us, I’ll talk about the importance of the rest of the season when it comes to Cal - we probably won’t take much of a risk there.

“I think you’ll see Fog, everything going well in the session.”

Butts pushing for a return  

Defender Jordon Butts is also pushing to return to the side, after missing last week’s win against Richmond with an adductor strain.

Similarly to Walker, Nicks said a decision on the 26-year-old’s availability for Saturday would be made after main training.

“Buttsy’s got to train as well, and we’ve got to make a decision around how many guys we have in the side off of not a lot of footy,” Nicks said. 

“We’d like to see Buttsy given that opportunity again (to play), but he knows his body and we’ll make a decision around what’s best for him and the team.” 

Rachele’s midfield minutes

Livewire Josh Rachele has spent more time as a forward in recent weeks, as the coaching staff continue to search for the best mix across the ground.

Despite having less exposure to the midfield in the past few games, Nicks said Rachele certainly had not been written off as on-baller moving forward. 

“There were a few things on the weekend (behind Rachele’s role), we changed a little bit in that second half,” Nicks said.

“You probably saw a bit more Dawson and a little bit more of Curtin, there's no doubt Izak’s getting a lot more time through the midfield.

“So it's one of those ones where it's a little bit of we're not really trying to keep you guys happy. We're trying to win games of footy and Josh is actually providing some real spark ahead of the ball as well.

“It’s not that Josh is being pushed out of that midfield. He'll get his opportunities, on the weekend we changed at halftime, which did limit it, but you'll see a little bit more of him (in the midfield).”

Dawson’s flexibility an asset 

Skipper Jordan Dawson’s flexibility was well and truly on show last week, as he moved from half-back to the midfield at the main change and was influential in shifting the momentum of the game. 

Nicks said Dawson’s ability to play multiple positions was beneficial and explained what his role could look like moving forward.

“On the weekend he was down (in defence) in the first half. We felt like his leadership, his ability to see the game and his ball use might help us just to get a little bounce off half back,” Nicks said. 

“In the end, unfortunately, we were required to push that leadership and bring it back up in the midfield where we weren't executing. So it's a weapon for us. It's where you deploy that.

“At the moment, we'll keep looking at that. We'd like to think our midfield doesn't get to halftime like we did last week, so we’ll see what role is best for Daws moving forward.” 

Facing an in-form North Melbourne 

Kuwarna will face an improved North Melbourne outfit on Saturday afternoon, a challenge Nicks said the group was excited to embrace. 

“We're playing against a side in some really good form, you know, as good as any in the contest,” Nicks said. 

“So I think we felt some real excitement in the group, watching, looking at our opposition, respecting what it is that we're coming up against. 

“Last week's game was a standout, and they've been in that form for a while. So for our guys they will embrace that challenge. It almost lifts the group.

“To come up against a team that's not going to allow you to skirt around the edges. We're going to have to put our head over and go hard. We're looking forward to it.”

How the team is faring ahead of Round 10

Coming into Round 10 in eighth spot, and with four wins in their past five games, Nicks said the group was optimistic about how it was tracking, despite not yet playing its best football.

“There is a little bit of frustration and probably more noise from outside than there is internally,” Nicks said.

“We’re more optimistic rather than frustrated, we acknowledge we’re not playing our best footy, we’re not as consistent as we need to be and not executing our game plan to the level we need to for four quarters of footy - and that’s the frustration that’s coming from outside. 

“We’re in a position now where we’re looking at the upside, we’ve won four of the last five and we’re not playing that well.

Mark Keane returns to the Club 

Defender Mark Keane returned to the Club and resumed his training program this week after travelling to Ireland for personal reasons. 

“He's going well. I think to get home as he did, get around family and support the family. Both he and his partner did a great job to get back there and just be in amongst it,” Nicks said. 

“He's back with us now, been back for a few days, and now he'll get back into rehab and get himself ready to go.”

Managing a SANFL bye 

Kuwarna faces the unique situation of its SANFL team being without a match this weekend due to a League-wide bye. 

“We’re going to have issues like that pop up no matter what league we’re in, it’s not going to be perfect every time, it’s not always going to be a curtain raiser to our (AFL) game,” Nicks said.

“It would probably be better if it was after our AFL game, so you don’t have to hold players over, but it is what it is, we have to deal with that and it’s a part of list management and selection.”