Adelaide will be eyeing a spot in the top four come weekend’s end as it faces Melbourne in a pivotal clash at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon. 

Both the Crows and Demons come into the match off the back of two wins, and sit sixth and fourth on the ladder, respectively. 

Adelaide Senior Coach Matthew Nicks spoke to the media on Friday morning and addressed the following topics. 

The return of Mark Keane

Irish defender Mark Keane will make his first AFL appearance of 2026 after overcoming a serious lower leg injury, sustained in the pre-season. 

Nicks praised the way Keane had attacked his recovery process and was excited to welcome him back into the line-up 

“For Mark Keane to make himself available is probably the big one. He's done an incredible job,” Nicks said. 

“I think I've mentioned before about how professional he's been since the injury. I was a little concerned earlier that this was his first injury, and how he would work his way through that. 

“But he was the ultimate pro, he's been outstanding. In fact, I think he's actually improved his leadership, especially his off-field stuff, and his focus.

 “It's going to take him a little time to find, you know, that sort of that judgment in the game and speed of the game again. But it’s great to have him back.” 

Keeping Walker on edge

According to Nicks, veteran forward Taylor Walker plays his best football with the presence of selection pressure. 

Walker returns to the line-up to face the Demons after missing last week’s match with a suspension, and spoke during the week about how his spot might not have been guaranteed. 

“That's me keeping Tex on edge. We actually have the odd conversation. I think Tex plays better when he's, when he's under pressure,” Nicks said.

“We openly had that chat and how I like it when you, when you're just a bit on edge. 

“I think Taylor knows that if he's performing well and his body's right, he's ready to go, and he brings the stuff he does off the field, he is very important to us.”

Battling against Max Gawn

Adelaide’s ruck department will face arguably its toughest test this weekend in the form of eight-time All-Australian big man Max Gawn. 

Nicks said it was an exciting test for his inexperienced ruck, Lachlan McAndrew, and gave an insight into who would support him on the day.

“It’s a big challenge, coming up against Gawny just because he's got everything in his game, he’s been the best in the competition for a long period of time.

“Now it's a great challenge for Stretch (Lachlan McAndrew) and Riley (Thilthorpe) will do some chop out ruck for us sometimes as well. 

"So they (challenges) don't get much bigger. We talk about it each week, though, every team's got an outstanding first ruck, and Max (Gawn) has proven that he's on another level with his All-Australian recognition in the way he plays.”

Managing Rankine’s return

Livewire Izak Rankine will return to the side after missing the past two matches with a calf strain. 

Nicks said the 25-year-old was in a great space physically, and the coaching staff would help manage his loads throughout the match. 

“He's feeling great. He wanted to play last week, but we had a good chat through that, so he's ready and raring to go,” Nicks said.

“We'll keep a close eye on it (his role). We have that ability now with 23 that we can manage a player. We’re really confident with Izak, so from a body point of view, depending on how the game's going, we'll just keep an eye on him. Hopefully, we don't need to do that (manage him too much).”

Borlase’s steady rise

Defender James Borlase has taken his game to another level in 2026, playing the last six matches and impressing against some of the competition’s best forwards. 

Nicks spoke about the 23-year-old’s development and the work he had put in to get to this point. 

“It's been really impressive, it’s what we've challenged him with, and we've spoken through over the last three or four years,” Nicks said. 

“James has got his game to a point where he was quite dominant at an SANFL level, we challenged him to be able to try and find that at an AFL level. 

“It's not easy, the speed goes up, the standard rises, but he's now playing some really solid footy. 

"The word dominance is not quite there yet, but that's great. What a goal to have. He's been so rock solid for us and really impressed.”

Supporting the Socceroos

As the country prepares to wake up early and support the Socceroos against the United States on Saturday morning, Nicks said he would not be opposed to his players getting in the World Cup spirit as they prepare to take on the Demons. 

“Our performance team talked through how to manage this, we played a lot of night games, actually leading to this one, so this will feel like a really early game for us," Nicks said.

“We've talked through how to prepare for that and there’s actually an option of getting up and watching our country play and setting it up as though it's a night game, not easy to do, but I'll be up watching that one for sure.”

Adelaide faces Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon, with the match to start at 12.45pm (ACST). 

For more information on what’s happening pre, during and post-game, head to our match day hub here.

Tickets available here.