Adelaide is looking forward to seeing rebounding defenders Ricky Henderson, Brodie Smith and Matthew Jaensch in the same backline for the first time this season, says midfield coach Scott Camporeale.

On Thursday, Henderson was recalled to play his first AFL game of 2014. The 25-year-old, who established himself across half-back in the latter part of last season, returns after a fourth-month absence with a badly broken leg.

Smith and Jaensch have enjoyed breakout seasons.

The pair is top 20 in Champion Data’s ranking for defenders, with Smith ranked seventh and Jaensch 16^th. Smith is second in the League for rebound 50ms, while Jaensch is 13^th. They are also top-20 in long kicks this year.

Camporeale said he was excited to see how the damaging trio functioned together.

“We’ve been looking for that combination all year, so we’ll see how it goes,” Camporeale said on Friday.

“We’d like to see ‘Hendo’ do what he was doing when he was up and going last season. He’ll play across half-back and, hopefully, give us a bit more counter punch out of there along with Brodie Smith and Matty Jaensch.”

Camporeale didn’t rule out Smith joining the onball brigade if the Giants tagged him at half-back.

“We’d like to see it (Smith in the midfield), absolutely, but whether it’s at some stage in this game we’ll wait and see,” he said.

“Brodie is a quality player and at the moment his best fit is down back. With Henderson coming back, it frees him up to go more through the midfield. Teams have given him a bit more attention the last couple of weeks.

“If that happens again tomorrow, we’ll have no hesitation in putting him into the midfield.”

Defenders Ben Rutten and Rory Laird and wingman David Mackay also return to the team after sitting out Adelaide’s Showdown win last weekend.

Camporeale admitted it was unusual for a winning team to make four changes at selection, but said the changes were warranted.

“They are quality guys coming back into the team,” he said.

“We’ve been waiting for Henderson for a little while, so he gets his opportunity. Mackay and Laird we think are in our best 22 and have been for most of the year, so there’s no risk there.

“We’re starting to get somewhere near our best 22, which is exciting.”

The Crows will be aiming to break an inconsistent run of form against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.

Adelaide hasn’t recorded consecutive wins since April. Camporeale challenged his team to play with the same intensity and attitude as last weekend.

“It comes down to player preparation and how they approach the game. Our strategy won’t change in the way we want to play,” Camporeale said.

“What we do know, as a playing group, is that you have to come ready to play at the intensity the AFL requires you to play at. If you’re slightly off, you’re going to get opened up. The players are really clear about that.

“GWS is a quality team with a lot of talent. We don’t underestimate them. It’s an important game for us to enhance our position in terms of where we want to get to by the end of the year. We’ve done nothing different (in our preparation) than what we did against Port.

“We hope the guys come with the same sort of level of intensity and the attitude they played with last week.”