Adelaide has made three changes to its side ahead of the clash against Sydney, naming Nick Murray, Izak Rankine and Brayden Cook in the team.
The Crows take on the Swans at Adelaide Oval, with Murray coming into the side for his first AFL game since rupturing his ACL in Round 18, 2023.
The backman has put together strong performances with the Club’s SANFL side across the past two weeks, proving he is ready to return to the top level.
Adelaide Head of Football Adam Kelly said Murray had worked hard to get himself fit and would be a welcomed addition to the team
“It is a real boost to have Muz back in the team,” Kelly said.
“He is a very important player to us and to have him return from his ACL injury in the manner that he has over the past two games in the SANFL is a great credit to him and to our High Performance and Medical team.
“We love his appetite for the contest, where he leaves no doubt about his competitiveness and hunger to win and that is why he is loved by his teammates and why his comeback to the AFL team will be celebrated.”
Rankine was set to return after recovering from a hamstring injury which had sidelined him since Round 10, while Cook was ruled out of last week’s game after jarring his knee but will come back into the line-up.
“It is (also) great to have Izak return to the team, we feel he has elevated his game in 2024 and he was in terrific form leading up to his injury,” Kelly said.
“He is a special player who has worked hard to maximise the impact that he can have on games and that has been evident this year.
“Brayden only missed the one week with a minor knee injury and was building his form at AFL level beforehand.
“After a stretch of nine consecutive games, we were seeing more consistently his strengths come to the fore and we look forward to Brayden continuing to build on this throughout the remainder of the season.”
Veteran Taylor Walker will miss another week with a back injury and Kelly said the 32-year-old was “not quite ready in time for this week's game but we look forward to his return after the bye”.
Brodie Smith, Chris Burgess and Ned McHenry, who was the substitute in last week’s game, have been omitted.
Smith and Burgess have been named as the emergencies, alongside Reilly O’Brien.
The Crows will name their substitute one hour before the first bounce.
Adelaide plays Sydney Adelaide Oval on Saturday at 7pm.
Tickets available here.
IN: Murray, Rankine, Cook
OUT: Smith, Burgess, McHenry
Adelaide’s Round 14 AFL team is:
