The 23-year-old last played for Adelaide against West Coast in Round 17. He was one of the Crows' better players in the win over the Eagles, but missed the next six weeks after scans revealed he’d injured his knee during the game and required surgery. Otten was part of the Club's finals campaign in 2009.

Coach Brenton Sanderson said Otten was a ‘like-for-like’ replacement for Shaw, who strained his hamstring in the first quarter of the Semi-Final win over Fremantle last weekend.

“While Andy hasn’t had the season he would’ve hoped for because of injury and inconsistency at times, he’s still a great player and he can easily come in and play a really important role for us,” Sanderson told afc.com.au.

“He can play both tall and small, which suits us against Hawthorn. He was really good in the game against West Coast when he hurt his knee.

“He gets an opportunity a bit like Luke Thompson last week. ‘Thommo’ came in and was fantastic for us and I’m sure Andy will do the same.”

Kamikaze forward Jared Petrenko, who injured his shoulder in the dying stages of the win over Freo, has been named in the team to tackle Hawthorn in the twilight final. Petrenko will test his shoulder at training on Friday.

Sanderson said emergencies Josh Jenkins, Brodie Martin and Aidan Riley would all make the trip to Melbourne with the team.

“If Jared doesn’t come up, one of those three will come in but we’re still quietly confident ‘Pup’ will be passed fit,” Sanderson said.

“He’s really eager to play and I can’t see there being any issues with that.”

Sanderson reached a milestone in his coaching career during the week, with Wednesday marking exactly 12 months to the day he was officially unveiled as coach of Adelaide.

Reluctant to reflect too much on the “quick spike” he boldly predicted at his first-ever press conference as senior coach, Sanderson said the job was far from done.

“The past year has gone really quick,” he said.

“To go from seven wins (in 2011) to 17 and 14th on the ladder to second (at the end of the minor round) this season and be in a prelim final - it’s great reward for how much hard work the whole team has put in. That includes the players, coaches and all the football staff. Everyone has pulled their weight and had an even contribution across the board.

“Hopefully, the reward is a win on Saturday night and we can enjoy the build-up to a Grand Final.”

The team is:

B: Luke Thompson, Ben Rutten, Michael Doughty

HB: Brodie Smith, Andy Otten, Brent Reilly

C: David Mackay, Scott Thompson, Bernie Vince

HF: Rory Sloane, Taylor Walker, Jared Petrenko

F: Ian Callinan, Kurt Tippett, Jason Porplyzia

FOLL: Sam Jacobs, Patrick Dangerfield, Nathan van Berlo

INT: Richard Douglas, Ricky Henderson, Matthew Wright. Sub: Graham Johncock

EMERG: Josh Jenkins, Brodie Martin, Aidan Riley

IN: Andy Otten
OUT: Sam Shaw (hamstring)