The early mail is in ahead of Thursday’s team news with updates on Izak Rankine, Nick Daicos, Connor Rozee, Sean Darcy, Liam Baker, Jordan De Goey and Tom Mitchell.
Press Conferences
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks discussed the role of star Izak Rankine and his usage up the ground as part of the Crows midfield rotation. He said: “We’ll continue to manage that one. It’ll be one where, I think I’ve mentioned it before, we love what he does around the ball. I guess the more we can have the ball in Izak’s hands the better for us as a team. We also love what he does down in front of goals. There’s not many in the competition who are able to finish off our work or their work like he does, so we’re mindful of taking him too far away from our goals.”
Nicks also said the Crows will be especially conscious of Magpies ball magnet Nick Daicos in their upcoming match against Collingwood. He said: “There will be a fair bit of attention around Daicos. There’s not many better than him in the competition, and he is hard to stop. Whether that’s a full tag or whether that’s definitely a team focus, he’s an outstanding player. There’s not many who impact the game as much as he does. We have a huge respect for their team, huge respect for him as an individual, and we’ll just play that out.”
Power assistant coach Chad Cornes said skipper Connor Rozee is a chance to return for their clash against Hawthorn this Sunday. He said: “Well, he’s ticked every box so far. We obviously don’t pick the team properly until Friday given it’s a longer week, but right now he’s ticked the boxes he needs to but yeah, that decision won’t be made until Friday.”
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said ruckman Sean Darcy is no certainty to return this week as he looks to overcome a calf niggle. He said: “We need to see a good session from (Sean). Back end of last week he failed a fitness test and showed a little bit in that calf. He didn’t run over the weekend and then did a good running session on Monday. He’s still got a fair bit to prove before he’s right, and like I said the other day, we’re not gonna take any risks with him. He’ll need to get through training, and if he doesn’t we’ll go with the same structure as last week.”
Richmond coach Adem Yze said Liam Baker is a “50/50 proposition” to return this week, having missed last round with soreness. Yze added that the Tigers will continue to take a conservative approach with their injured players moving forward, irrespective of the club’s ladder position.
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said Ryley Sanders is pushing for a senior recall following his most recent performance in the VFL. He said: “Sando had a really productive stoppage game and contested game. I mentioned how physical that game was, we loved the way he went about it. He obviously accumulated a lot of possessions, had a lot of handballs, about 30 odd. He did himself proud, he played a good game. I’ve said a couple of times that I’d love for him to be playing AFL footy and getting his experience there. There are a couple of things we’re trying to teach him and make sure is ingrained in his game. He’ll be considered from week to week.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirmed that while Jordan De Goey is set to return, fellow midfielder Tom Mitchell will need at least one more week on the sidelines. McRae said: “Tom won’t play. Tom’s got that foot issue that’s still just lingering around, so he won’t be playing.”
The Pies coach also noted Lachie Schultz would be a likely inclusion, having served his one match suspension. He said: “Lachie’s available, we’d like to think he’s in our best 22. He’ll get a chance to come back into the team, trained exceptionally well. There’s something to be said about missing a game, saying I’ve got to get to work and make amends for what was, then someone plays really well in your position and it puts a bit of pressure on you, doesn’t it.”
Debutants
The Demons have announced that offseason recruit Shane McAdam will make his club debut this weekend in their match against the Eagles. Coach Simon Goodwin said McAdam has “put in a power of work” and is “incredibly excited to be in the team”.
