Tippett doubtful for opener
Adelaide's Kurt Tippett has shown signs of improvement but will need a full week of training to be fit for round one
Tippett suffered minor ligament damage to his ankle in the opening minutes of the Crows' loss to Carlton in round three of the NAB Challenge.
The 23-year-old made a brief appearance at training on Friday morning minus the boot, but was restricted to light handball drills and will need to complete a full week of training before being considered for selection.
The Crows, who have a bye in round two, could take an extra-cautious approach to Tippett's recovery and give his ankle another fortnight to heal, but assistant coach Scott Camporeale said the club was pushing for its star goalkicker to play against the Hawks.
"Kurt's on track to train next week, so hopefully he'll get through training and have a full week on the track," Camporeale said on Friday.
"Hopefully, he'll be available for round one. We're certainly pushing forward for him to play round one."
Former best-and-fairest winner Bernie Vince, defender Brodie Martin and forwards Ricky Henderson and Matthew Jaensch will play in the SANFL this weekend, with the aim of boosting their chances of playing in round one.
Ruckman Sam Jacobs (hamstring) and Jared Petrenko (abdominal strain) were also expected to get much needed practice in the local league this weekend, but failed to train with the team during the week and won't be considered for selection against the Hawks.
Martin missed the Crows' final-round NAB Challenge game with a knee injury and needs to put in a solid performance for Sturt to stay ahead of Richmond recruit Richard Tambling at selection.
In February, coach Neil Craig declared an underdone Tambling wasn't in the club's best 22 players, but the former first-round draft pick has rocketed into calculations for round one with two impressive performances in the last fortnight.
Camporeale said the club was yet to finalise its team to take on the Hawks and that Tambling was one of 29 players pushing for a spot.
"Richard's certainly well in the mix. I think Neil's comment [regarding Tambling not being in the best 22] early on was when Richard was a fair bit underdone and when he'd had a couple of issues post-operation before Christmas," Camporeale said.
"He's trained really well and he's keeping up to speed with how we want to play. He's getting really confident playing with the guys that he's playing with.
"That's going to take time, but he's certainly put his hand up over the last two weeks."