Adelaide senior coach Matthew Nicks says expectations around Riley Thilthorpe’s return should be tempered
Matthew Nicks has urged Crows fans to temper expectations about Riley Thilthorpe’s long-awaited return as he prepares to play his first game of 2024.
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Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has tempered expectations about key forward Riley Thilthorpe’s return for his first AFL game of the season.
Thilthorpe will face St Kilda at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night, ending four months on the sidelines from the top level since tearing his lateral meniscus during a trial match.
But whether Thilthorpe plays a full game against the Saints remains up in the air.
He has been named on the interchange and speculation suggests he will start as the substitute.
Nicks was coy when asked if Thilthorpe would play that role, saying he did not want to reveal his plans to St Kilda coach Ross Lyon.
“I’m not going to give too much ... we’ll hold it until game day, but we have done that a little as an avenue in (for players returning from injury),” Nicks said.
The Crows mentor said the team was excited for Thilthorpe, who kicked three and two goals in two SANFL games before being recalled.
“We’re looking for him to come in and impact the game, but also understanding that the expectation can’t be too high when you haven’t played that much football the last six months,” Nicks said.
“He’s played two games this year, both of those at SANFL level.
“We felt like his off-season and pre-season were a really high level, now it’s about getting back into footy again.
“He’s done a hell of a lot of work to be fit and ready to go.”
Along with Thilthorpe’s return, Adelaide is buoyed this week by the debut of second-year defender Hugh Bond.
Nicks described the Victorian as a warrior.
“What he lacks for in polish, he makes up for in endeavour,” he said.
“He’s had a fantastic four weeks of footy at SANFL level … but it’ll be a really big test for him.”
Thilthorpe and Bond replace defender Mitch Hinge (adductor) and forward/midfielder Izak Rankine (suspension).
The Crows come into Saturday night’s game in 15th spot on the ladder (5-6-1) off the back of an 11-point defeat to Brisbane at the Gabba.
St Kilda is one position ahead (6-10) and has three victories from its past five matches.
In the lead-up to his return match, Thilthorpe was back at his junior club, Goodwood Saints, to help promote the state government’s “Here For The Game” community program.
The program aims to prevent harm and disrupt the normalisation of gambling in sport.
“I’m really proud my junior club has signed on to the program,” Thilthorpe said.
“Anything we can do to encourage community sport and especially young footballers to enjoy sport for what it is without the distraction of gambling is a positive step.”
CROWS PREPARE FOR THILTHORPE’S LONG-AWAITED RETURN
— Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Adelaide young gun Riley Thilthorpe will play his first AFL game of the year against St Kilda on Saturday.
Along with Thilthorpe’s much anticipated return, youngster Hugh Bond will make his debut as the Crows only make the two changes to the side that lost to Brisbane.
Thilthorpe was one of the Crows’ standout performers on the track during pre-season, fuelling hopes at West Lakes that the key forward would be in line for a breakout year in 2024.
But in the dying minutes of the Crows’ final pre-season hitout against West Coast, Thilthorpe suffered a knee injury that required surgery and has kept him out of action until after Adelaide’s mid-season bye.
The former No. 2 pick has spent the last two weeks in the SANFL, and the Crows have brought him back into the AFL ranks to take on the Saints as they look towards 2025.
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Crows head of football Adam Kelly said Thilthorpe was ready to return to AFL level.
“Riley’s first game at AFL level for the 2024 season has been a long time waiting for a player who enjoyed an exceptional pre-season in preparation for a season that was full of hope and promise,” Kelly said.
“He has approached his rehabilitation with an elite level of diligence and professionalism and has been supported by a high performance and medical team that we are proud of.
“There is still plenty of opportunity in this season for Riley to be rewarded for his hard work and we are looking forward to his continued development, starting with this Saturday night.”
The Crows announced on Wednesday that Bond would make his debut against the Saints.
He has been named on the interchange bench, along with Thilthorpe, Lachie Murphy, Brayden Cook and Zac Taylor.
Kelly said Bond was rewarded for his determination and effort.
“Hugh comes into the side after excelling in his role for the SANFL team throughout season 2024,” Kelly said.
“Hugh is a disciplined and determined defender who will not be beaten on effort.
“These characteristics earn respect amongst his teammates and regard from all associated with the team.
“It is very pleasing to see someone who has worked as hard as Hugh be rewarded with an opportunity and we look forward to seeing his competitiveness on show at the AFL level.”
The two come in for the suspended Izak Rankine and injured Mitch Hinge.
Elliott Himmelberg holds his spot, meaning the Crows will go with a four-tall attack against the Saints.
Hinge to miss as young gun hit by season-ending injury
– Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Leadership group member Mitch Hinge will miss Adelaide’s clash against St Kilda, as the Crows are hit with another season-ending injury.
Hinge was subbed out of the Crows’ loss to Brisbane at three-quarter-time with adductor soreness.
Crows high performance manager Darren Burgess said Hinge would miss Saturday’s clash against the Saints at Adelaide Oval.
“He was managing a little bit of adductor soreness going into the game, and to be honest he was happy to keep going, but we really wanted to insert Zac Taylor into the game so he was the obvious one to take out,” he said.
“It’s more than likely we will manage him through this week and he will miss the game against St Kilda, but it will only be one week and he will be back for the Essendon game.”
While Hinge is likely to be on the sidelines for a week, young midfielder/forward Luke Pedlar’s season is done after he suffered another shoulder injury in the SANFL clash against Central District.
“Luke subluxed his shoulder on the weekend, he has been playing with a few shoulder issues, so he will have surgery on Thursday and will mean his season ends unfortunately,” Burgess said.
“His recovery is three months so he will be fine for pre-season and involved in full contact pretty much when we start, so that’s the positive of having the surgery now and the negative is he was playing some good midfield minutes in the SANFL and unfortunately that’s it for him.”
Defender Will Hamill is to miss two more games with his finger injury.
“Will scanned his finger during the week and we discovered a fracture there that needed some surgery,” Burgess said.
“He had that surgery and last week and is likely to miss another two games.
“He will be able to run around so it shouldn’t be too bad in terms of when he’s able to come back but he’s looking at another two games.”
Over at Alberton, Esava Ratugolea, Ryan Burton and Josh Sinn will be tested ahead of Port Adelaide’s clash against Gold Coast on Sunday.
Ratugolea and Burton trained fully with the group on Tuesday, with Sinn set to join in on Thursday.
Ruckman Ivan Soldo is listed as three weeks away.
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Originally published as Adelaide senior coach Matthew Nicks says expectations around Riley Thilthorpe’s return should be tempered
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