Brodie Martin is a late inclusion in Adelaide's team to play St Kilda on Sunday afternoon.
Martin replaces young midfielder Mitch Grigg, who will miss with an adductor complaint. Martin will start as the substitute. Scott Thompson (corked thigh) and Sam Kerridge (eye) will take their place in the team.
After making five changes at selection last week, coach Brenton Sanderson said he’d put it on the same players to make amends for a disappointing loss to Sydney.
“We’ve challenged the same 22 players to respond. We didn’t have enough contributors last week, so we need to see improvement across the board, not just from one or two players,” Sanderson said.
“We’ve shown faith in some guys this week, but they can’t get into the habit of playing two bad games in a row. There are still a couple of players who need to prove their fitness, so there could still be a change or two to the team we’ve named.”
Untried Crow Cam Ellis-Yolmen and utilities Brodie Martin and Sam Shaw are the emergencies. Sanderson said it was good recognition for Ellis-Yolmen, who is included in the 25 for the first time.
“Cam had a good pre-season and has been in solid form for our State League team,” he said.
“If he continues to play well and work on his game he’ll get his chance sooner rather than later. He’s an exciting player.”
Forwards Tom Lynch (shoulder) and Shaun McKernan (concussion) have both been cleared to play this weekend and will line up in Adelaide’s SANFL clash with Sturt on Saturday. Lynch, who dislocated his shoulder in the Club’s last pre-season hit-out, will play his first game of the season.
Sanderson said a lack of match practice prevented Lynch from returning directly to the AFL team.
“We debated the possibility of Lynchy coming straight back in,” he said.
“In the end, we thought he probably needed a game in the SANFL first. He had a limited pre-season because of a foot injury and then hurt his shoulder a quarter-and-a-half into his comeback game.
“Lynchy is an important player for us. All being well, he’ll be right in the mix next week.”
The team is:
IN: Brodie Martin
OUT: Mitch Grigg (adductor)
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