Burton, 31, was solid without being outstanding in Woodville-West Torrens’ hefty loss to Sturt on the weekend and has been named in the Crows’ 25-man-squad- a year to the day since undergoing a full-knee reconstruction.
Burton starred with four goals for the Eagles in his first game but Craig’s ‘gut feel’ denied the high-flying veteran a call-up for Saturday night’s demolition of Fremantle.
The two-time leading goalkicker got through training at AAMI Stadium on Thursday and Craig said he would have no hesitation bringing Burton back against league leaders St Kilda.
“The argument could be, ‘why would you change a winning side?’ and that’s a fair argument. But I could also come back to you and say if you have an attitude of ‘if it’s not broke then don’t fix it’, maybe you miss out on opportunity as well and that’s why Brett will be given a consideration,” Craig said on Thursday.
“If we believe he makes us a stronger opponent, particularly up in the forward line, and that it doesn’t upset our overall balance…there will be a fair chance he’ll come back into our side.”
Evergreen veteran Tyson Edwards will miss his first game since round nine 2006 after straining his hamstring at training on Thursday.
Midfielder Scott Thompson (general soreness) left the track early but is considered a certain starter against the Saints.
Rookie-listed wingman Brodie Martin, who has been in impressive form with Sturt, is in the mix for his AFL debut after being elevated to the senior list.
The Crows have notched-up seven straight wins on the back of their fierce defensive pressure and slick ball movement.
The Saints, who also base their game around defence, are aiming for their 16th win of the season.
Craig said his side would need to make the most of its opportunities in front of goal in what could eventuate as a low-scoring affair.
“We need to continue to be really good at winning the ball and pressuring the opposition when they get it. I think they’ve been trademarks of ours in the last few weeks and that’s not totally different to St Kilda,” Craig said.
“The pressure of the game is also going to be important for us and our ball movement and whether we’re still prepared to take the calculated risks we’ve been taking in the last seven weeks with certain kicking patterns.”
On Wednesday, St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said statistics showed that Adelaide had been in better form than his unbeaten team over the past seven weeks.
Craig refused to be drawn into the debate of which team was in better nick.
“If you think we’re favourites or Ross thinks we’re favourite, that’s fine by us. I’d like to be the favourite every week because you know what that means? It means you’re going pretty well.”
Adelaide has dropped four of its past five games against the Saints, including a 32-point loss at home in round two.
In fact, Craig’s Crows are yet to topple St Kilda under Lyon.
But Craig denied the battle with Lyon’s Saints was a personal one for him.
“You’ve got to try and keep an eye on trends within your club. We’ve got [a losing] one and it’s against West Coast; there’s no denying that. You don’t like those trends occurring. Your supporters don’t like it and we don’t like it, but it never becomes personal.”
