Adelaide has added eight players to its extended squad for its clash against Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.
Matt Crouch, Brayden Cook and Harry Schoenberg have been named in the line-up.
Luke Nankervis, Patrick Parnell, Elliott Himmelberg and Jackson Hately have been added to the extended bench, after featuring in last weekend’s State League win over Glenelg.
Ned McHenry has also been named on the extended bench after coming on as the substitute in the Round 18 loss to Greater Western Sydney.
Senior Coach Matthew Nicks confirmed on Thursday that reigning Club Champion Rory Laird will miss the match due to a shoulder injury.
Josh Rachele (suspended), Max Michalanney (managed) and Lachlan Sholl (omitted) also come out of the side.
Nicks said it was pleasing to have a number of options to cover the absence of Laird.
“(Laird missing) will give the opportunity to others who are playing good footy in the SANFL,” Nicks said.
“Crouchy (Matt Crouch) has been a standout, guys like (Jackson) Hately, (Harry) Schoenberg, there are a number of guys I could talk through that have been pushing for an opportunity.
“It’s disappointing Lairdy (Rory Laird) won’t be there, but the pleasing thing is we’ve got guys ready to come in that deserve an opportunity.
“We’ll try and bring in a little bit of freshness and a spark.”
Adelaide will be looking to return to the winners’ list this weekend after consecutive losses to Essendon and GWS.
Nicks said his side had learned a lot from the past fortnight and was itching to respond at the MCG on Sunday.
“We buttered up pretty quickly from last week, we got together as a group and we looked through it and we found a lot of positives,” Nicks said.
“The fact we were up and in the position we were in at three-quarter-time, it was always going to be a tough game and we were up for it for the majority of the night, but just didn’t have it when it mattered in the last quarter.
“We go through that (last quarter), have a really good look at it and learn from it, as we look to respond against a quality side this week.”
Adelaide faces Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday afternoon, with the first bounce at 2.50pm (ACST).
IN: Cook, Crouch, Schoenberg, Nankervis, McHenry, Himmelberg, Parnell, Hately
OUT: Laird (injured), Rachele (suspended), Michalanney (managed), Sholl (omitted)
Adelaide's Round 19 squad is:
