Adelaide is set to field a mix of experience and youth in its Marsh Community Series opener against Melbourne at Casey Fields on Saturday.
Coach Matthew Nicks told AFC Media he will take a full contingent of 26 players to Victoria, including a number of young Crows who deserve the opportunity to press their claims for Round One.
Chayce Jones, 20, is a likely starter for Saturday on the back of a strong pre-season, with the Tasmanian a standout in the midfield in Adelaide’s match simulation on the weekend.
“We want to take a strong side across, as I’m sure Melbourne will,” Nicks said.
“At this point, Chayce will come across. He’s earned the right to put his name forward.
“When you see him winning a 2km time trial back in November, he's been able to now bring that into his game and put it on the field.
“From a coaching point of view and even teammates, I think everyone enjoys watching that.”
With Tom Doedee eyeing a return in next week’s Under-23 trial game and Kyle Hartigan only recently completing injury rehabilitation, the Crows could hand a call-up to one of its emerging defenders for the pre-season opener.
No.6 draft pick Fischer McAsey and second-year rookie Jordon Butts have both caught the eye of Adelaide’s senior coach to put their names firmly in the selection mix.
“McAsey has been outstanding right across the pre-season, so depending on how he pulls up from Saturday, he'll be another one that we could possibly see,” Nicks said.
“Buttsy’s the other one. He's played some great footy, played on Tex on Saturday and did a fantastic job.
With four players named for the AFL State of Origin game and a number of other pre-season fixtures still in the calendar, Nicks said there would be “a little bit of management involved” in how the Crows approach Round One.
Adelaide will rotate through its 26 players against the Demons with the extended interchange available.
“We’ll look at playing probably guys for a half only. Four in the first half, four in the second half,” Nicks said.
“Try and rotate 22 through, which gives us an idea of what our rotations look like and how guys are going to factor into that.”
Adelaide will announce its Marsh Community Series squad to face Melbourne on Thursday at 5.50pm ACDT.
