Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks discussed Josh Rachele after his recent lower midfield time, resulting in a dip in scores.
The Crows have used Izak Rankine through the middle more lately, seeing Rachele’s CBAs drop from 81% in Round 6 down to 19% and 15% over the past two games.
That’s also come with Jordan Dawson’s recent drop of CBAs around missing two games, along with the return of Dan Curtin, further complicating their midfield mix.
“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.
“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 half-time, which did limit it, but you’ll see a little bit more of him (in the midfield).”
Sydney coach Dean Cox discussed the potential return of Jai Serong (soreness), along with Charlie Curnow and Tom McCartin. He said: “So far, they’ve done what they have to do.
“That’s train over the weekend and the early part of the week; (we’ll) just assess them during match play and have a look at how they’re going. From all reports, they’ve done everything they have to do so far.”
On Curnow and Serong, he added: “These ones are a bit more cautious. One thing we don’t want (to do) is to flirt with form, for individuals or the team. It was a medical decision to make them unavailable (last week) to get them back as quickly as we can, and hopefully, that was the one week.”
Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirmed Darcy Cameron will miss this round, meaning Oscar Steene likely takes on more ruck role.
McRae said: “Yeah, Darcy’s not going to play, he’s got a bit going on with his body.
“We’re going to rule him out to travel. His body’s not quite ready to perform this week so we’re going to hold him back and not travel.”
Carlton has revealed Jack Ison will make his AFL debut this round against the Western Bulldogs. He’s a pick 47 out of the Club’s Next Generation Academy, who is 192cm.
In selection news, Brisbane confirmed Darragh Joyce has been dropped for Thursday’s clash with Geelong with Darcy Gardiner returning as a key defender.
The Cats confirmed the return of Gryan Miers following a partial ACL tear. Geelong coach Chris Scott said on FoxFooty earlier in the week: “My understanding is the medical staff have well and truly ticked him off.
“In fact, the weekend he played slightly limited game time in the VFL which they thought was a little bit cautious in and of itself. Given they’ve said he’s available, it would be strange for us to leave him out of our team because he’s clearly in our best team and is a real asset for us.”
Young ruckman Mitch Edwards is also back after being managed last week.
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Ben Somerford
