Adelaide SANFL Coach Mick Godden has heaped praise on youngster James Borlase after a solid performance in the ruck against Sturt on Sunday.

Godden was forced to use the 192cm defender in the ruck in the Qualifying Final with big man Kieran Strachan on the sidelines with a wrist injury.

Speaking on Tuesday ahead of the Crows’ semi final against Glenelg this weekend, Godden said Borlase held his own in the ruck.

“It was good - he (Borlase) played a couple of games in the ruck last year for us,” Godden said.

“We knew he could do it as a junior, so we had a go at it.

“He did a really good job and he got better as the day went on.”

Adelaide found itself 36 points behind in the match against Sturt on Sunday, before a rampant second half led to a come-from-behind victory.

Godden said he was proud of the way the players rallied to get the win.

“We are certainly motivated - we’ve always said we want to win it and we will continue to say that,” Godden said.

“The players are in a great head space.

“Intent is not a worry for me. The intent and the passion is there, we just have to execute.

“Clearly you don’t come back from that far down without passion.”

The Crows will face Glenelg in a semi-final at Adelaide Oval this Sunday.

Glenelg is coming off a bye - a reward for finishing the minor round in top spot - and Godden was expecting a tough battle against the Tigers.

“(Glenelg has) a very good forward line and one you don’t want to come up against when you’ve got a bit of a less experienced backline,” Godden said.

“But as a team, we’ve just got to defend - I know it’s a cliche`, but it’s a team-defence game and we’ll try to make sure the ball doesn't go down there as much or easily.

“The guys who will come in will step up, there’s no doubt.

“They know the system, our development players know what they need to do and they’ve had some experience out here on the oval.”

Adelaide takes on Glenelg in a semi-final at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, with the first bounce at 3.15pm.