A former first-round draft pick (No.13 in the 2008 AFL Draft), Lynch requested a trade to Adelaide in October after being limited to only six games in three years at St Kilda.
The athletic and versatile 21-year-old impressed throughout the Crows’ NAB Cup campaign, kicking two goals against the Brisbane Lions in round two and another three in the win over Collingwood the next week.
Lynch also made an impact in the pre-season Grand Final against West Coast, amassing 14 disposals and nine marks in the second half after starting the match as a substitute.
Coach Brenton Sanderson said the 190cm, 87kg, utility had demanded selection.
“Tom just kicks goals and finds plenty of the ball, so he’ll be a handful for whoever plays on him,” Sanderson told afc.com.au.
“He’s a difficult match-up because he’s a marking forward, but also has a great tank and can run all over the ground.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him play.
“It’s nice when you trade for a player and they force their way in to play the first game the next season.”
(Click on a headline to learn more about Tom Lynch)
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Lynch pumped for pre-season
Opportunity knocks for Lynch
Rutten, who had surgery to correct plantar fasciitis in late-January, left training early on Monday after experiencing soreness in a different spot in his foot, but got through Wednesday’s main training session unscathed.
Rutten hasn’t played a game at any level this year, but Sanderson said he had no hesitation bringing the All Australian defender straight back into the side.
“There’s been a lot of speculation in the media about Ben, but those who have been around the Club the last four weeks would’ve seen how hard he’s trained,” Sanderson said.
“We’ve tried to simulate as much match practice as possible and he’s done a lot of kilometres.
“We’re not expecting miracles on Saturday, but at the same time we know Ben’s a professional.
‘He’s prepared himself as best as he can.
“He’s sort of the leader of that backline group and I know the players are looking forward to having him back in there.”
Douglas missed the last two NAB Cup games after suffering a minor hamstring injury in the win over the Lions in Alice Springs, but showed enough over the summer to also warrant an instant recall.
“’Dougy’ could’ve played in the NAB Cup Grand Final, but we didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks at this time of the year,” Sanderson said.
“He’s one that hasn’t really missed a beat over the summer and we think he’s pretty important to our balance and make-up.
“He’s done a lot of training over the last couple of weeks and doesn’t need to play any SANFL games.
“His touch is good, so he’ll be fine.”
Read the full team here
With a full list to choose from, Sanderson and the Crows match committee were faced with some difficult decisions at selection.
Untried pair Sam Shaw and Sam Kerridge and promising young players Matt Jaensch, Matt Wright and Shaun McKernan have all been left out of the 25-man team that beat the Eagles in the NAB Cup Grand Final.
“It’s a difficult one because you can’t fit all the guys in that you’d like to play,” Sanderson said.
“There are some guys that are in really good form, who have missed out.
“In Sam Shaw’s case, there will be times when we’ll play all three tall defenders in, Rutten, Talia and Shaw and other times, like this week, where we only play two.
“Sam and Dan along with Luke Thompson and Lewis Johnston are our future in defence because Truck’s not going to play forever.
“It’s really healthy for us that all those guys are in good form.
“We know we can pick any two of those five guys with confidence every week.
“We’ve got fit guys all over the ground fighting for positions, so it’s a good spot to be in.”
Remarkably, 21 Crows will play in the SANFL this weekend.
Another five will sit out because Woodville-West Torrens has the bye.
The team is:
3. Brent Reilly
4. Kurt Tippett
5. Scott Thompson
7. Nathan van Berlo
9. Rory Sloane
11. Michael Doughty
12. Daniel Talia
13. Taylor Walker
14. David Mackay
17. Bernie Vince
18. Graham Johncock
22. Andy Otten
23. Jared Petrenko
24. Sam Jacobs
25. Ben Rutten
26. Richard Douglas
27. Tom Lynch
32. Patrick Dangerfield
33. Brodie Smith
37. Ian Callinan
40. Jason Porplyzia
45. Ricky Henderson
Adelaide takes on the Western Bulldogs in the Club’s first home match of 2012 next Saturday night. Click here to buy tickets.
