Adelaide will go into this afternoon's clash with Essendon as named.

Richard Tambling will start as the substitute in his first game of the season.

On Saturday, Essendon made two changes to its selected 22, with veteran Dustin Fletcher and Ricky Dyson withdrawn from the team because of injury. The pair was replaced by Henry Slattery and Tayte Pears. 

Slattery will wear the green vest for the visitors.

As of 2:30pm Sunday, 300 tickets remain for the Crows v Bombers clash. They can be purchased at AAMI Stadium from Gate Two.

On Friday afternoon, it was announced Tambling and Aidan Riley would play their first games of the season against Essendon, while ruckman Sam Jacobs and Sam Shaw were also been recalled.

The four inclusions replaced the injured David Mackay (toe), and Shaun McKernan, Brad Symes and Luke Thompson, who were omitted from the team that lost to Geelong.

Traded to Adelaide from Richmond at the end of 2010, Tambling played 10 games in an injury-interrupted first year at West Lakes. His last match in Crows colours was against West Coast in round 24 last season.

Coach Brenton Sanderson said the 108-game veteran had earned an opportunity through his good SANFL form.

“Richard’s had a really good five or six weeks playing on a wing and also across half-back at Sturt,” Sanderson told afc.com.au.

“He’s like a David Mackay. He’s quick. He can play on the wing and also on a variety of players. Essendon is a quick team and Richard can play on guys like Leroy Jetta and Alwyn Davey.

“He’s been knocking the door down with his form, but because we’ve been winning and there haven’t been injuries or form issues in the midfield he’s had to bide his time like a few others.

“His attitude has been really good and I’m sure he’ll come in and play well.”

A product of the NSW Scholarship program, Riley made his AFL debut against Port Adelaide in round 19 last year, playing a total of five games. The tough onballer starred in Sturt’s win over South Adelaide last weekend and will add grunt to the Crows midfield.

“Aidan broke his hand at the wrong time, earlier this year, but he’s come back and played really well,” Sanderson said.

“He’ll give us a bit of aggression with his tackling and pressure on the ball. I wouldn’t call him a pretty footballer, but he’ll go in there and win the hard ball. You grow taller when you have players like that in the side. We need to tackle and chase well against Essendon, and Aidan’s the perfect fit.”

Jacobs (hamstring tightness) and Shaw (eye) return after short stints on the sidelines through injury.

Sanderson said McKernan, Symes and Thompson had fallen victim to the selection pressure at West Lakes.

“McKernan was fantastic against Geelong last week … and Thompson and Symes were also okay when they played, so it shows we’ve still got guys in form that aren’t in the team,” he said.

“We’re just trying to get the balance of the team right. Three of those are not forced changes. We’re bringing guys in for form and team balance. It’s a bit about the opposition, but mostly about the balance of our team.

“We’ll pick the 22 we think can get the four points.”

The Club is optimistic both Mackay and injured forward Kurt Tippett (concussion) will be available for selection next week.

The team to play Essendon is:

B: Sam Shaw, Ben Rutten, Michael Doughty

HB: Nathan van Berlo, Daniel Talia, Brent Reilly

C: Bernie Vince, Scott Thompson, Brodie Smith

HF: Jared Petrenko, Taylor Walker, Matt Wright

F: Richard Douglas, Jason Porplyzia, Ian Callinan

FOLL: Sam Jacobs, Patrick Dangerfield, Rory Sloane

INTERCHANGE: Josh Jenkins, Graham Johncock, Aidan Riley, Richard Tambling

EMERG: Shaun McKernan, Brad Symes, Luke Thompson

INS: Sam Jacobs, Aidan Riley, Sam Shaw, Richard Tambling
OUT: David Mackay (toe), Shaun McKernan (omit), Brad Symes (omit), Luke Thompson (omit)