ADELAIDE have chosen to experiment with using rising tall Kurt Tippett as a permanent forward against lowly guinea pig Melbourne at AAMI Stadium this weekend.So far this season Tippett has switched between the forward line and the ruck with considerable success but his career appears likely to unfold as a marking option in attack.
The partial ruck duties vacated by Tippett are to be taken by the recalled Ivan Maric, one of three changes to the side that finished well clear of North Melbourne a fortnight ago.
Surprisingly, class midfielder Brent Reilly is not among them after his recovery from a broken wrist; the Crows choosing to be conservative with his fitness.
Instead, wingman/forward Luke Jericho has won a recall following a strong showing for Norwood last week and will take his place in a side looking to improve on execution and ball movement.
"I think our ball movement has still got a long way to go, 5-2 is good for us, we`re happy with it, but I don`t think we`ve played exceptional footy this year, not with the picture we have in our head of where we want to go," Crows coach Neil Craig said.
"It`s pretty much based on quick ball movement even though we`re scoring reasonably well, we get stifled a bit too often for what we`re looking for, so we continue to train and keep pushing the issue.
"Every team talks about execution and turnovers and we`re no different, and the ones that really irk you as a player and a coach is those where you`d sit and watch the game as a spectator and say ‘well that was an easy kick, he just missed that.
"Sometimes it looks really easy to us watching it but when you talk to the players you`ve got to understand they`re not just seeing that player, they sense people moving and people coming up behind them so it`s more difficult than what we think, but the elite people and elite teams do it better."
The Crows will be opposed to a Melbourne side riding higher than it has all season due to a come-from-behind victory over Fremantle.
Much of their momentum last week was created by the energy and goal sense of Austin Wonaeamirri, a rookie selection some, including Adelaide defender Nathan Bassett, thought should have been drafted by the Crows.
Adelaide recruiting manager Matt Rendell felt youngster Jarrhan Jacky, dropped this week, would grow to fill that small forwards role, but for the time being Jason Porplyzia is winning plenty of admirers by switching between clearances in the midfield and crumbing in attack.
"We like him up forward, I`m sure he will progress to be an elite midfielder in his own right, but probably the last couple of weeks we certainly used him up forward a bit more, not necessarily by design, just from the structure and personnel we`ve had," Craig said.
"I`m keen to see Jason back in the midfield, but it`s good for him because he`s developing really good skills to play forward/midfield, Simon Goodwin forward/midfield, Scott Thompson if we can develop him more as a forward/midfield, and that`s the flexibility we want."
AAP
