AFL 2022: Follow all the Crows team and injury news leading into Round 1

Adelaide is adamant star recruit Jordan Dawson is in the mix to debut for the club in Round 1, but the latest training session suggested he’s in a race against time.

Matt Crouch of the Crows.

Gun Adelaide recruit Jordan Dawson is still not in full training for the Crows with just under two weeks away from Round 1.

Dawson missed the Community Series loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday with calf soreness after he was unavailable for the Crows practice match defeat at the hands of Brisbane because of Covid-19 protocols.

The Crows have said they are expecting Dawson to be in contention for Round 1 against Fremantle at Adelaide Oval on Sunday week.

But at Crows training on Tuesday Dawson was away from the main group.

Along with Shane McAdam (abductor injury) Dawson did mostly running with a small bit of kicking at West Lakes.

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None of the running by the ex-Sydney Swan was at sprint pace.

Luke Pedlar looks to have avoided a hamstring injury after there were concerns he had suffered one against the Power.

Pedlar completed a decent block of running and was also kicking in a good sign for the young midfielder.

Mitch Hinge and Riley Thilthorpe did not train but both are expected to be in the mix for Round 1.

Thilthorpe was absent with a non-Covid illness, while Hinge watched training from the sidelines.

Star Crows recruit Jordan Dawson continues to train away from the main group.

Hinge received a knock to his AC joint against the Power, the shoulder he dislocated on multiple occasions in 2021.

He will rejoin training next week with the Crows to be careful with him.

Rory Laird watched on after he broke his hand against the Power.

Still significantly swollen the hand will not be operated on meaning Laird could be out for up to six weeks.

The Crows were split into AFL and SANFL sides for the main drill of the session, largely reflecting their selections from the weekend.

This meant Lachlan Gollant continued to train with the senior side, along with draftee Jake Soligo.

With Laird absent the midfielders in the AFL group were Rory Sloane, Ben Keays, Matt Crouch and Harry Schoenberg.

Tall midfielder Jackson Hately, who had a strong game for the SANFL side on the weekend, did some work with Reilly O’Brien and Kieran Strachan around hit-outs at the end of the session.

CROWS STAR DIDN’T KNOW IF HE WOULD PLAY AGAIN

Matt Turner

Adelaide midfielder Matt Crouch says he questioned if he would ever play at AFL level again as he battled a nagging groin issue last year.

Crouch did not feature for the Crows’ top team before having off-season surgery that had left him pain-free and confident in his body.

Now back playing with two practice games under his belt, Crouch said being sidelined with the first long-term injury of his career was extremely frustrating.

But the 26-year-old said it had given him a new appreciation for playing the game.

“There were definitely times last year you question where you’re at and you’re not sure where your body’s at and if you’re going to get back at all – you have (those) thoughts,” Crouch said.

“But the physios and the docs were always pretty confident I’d get back to my best.

“They can give you a fair bit of confidence about what they’ve seen before and obviously Brad went through a similar thing … and came out the other end.

“It was a tough time but I’m at the end of it now, and looking forward to playing this year.”

Crouch’s groin problems stemmed from hip surgery after the 2020 campaign.

The 2017 All-Australian and Crows best-and-fairest said he tried to push through the pain last year, but it became too much.

“It was a bit of a battle,” he said.

“The whole club was really good throughout that period.

“You can bounce off guys who have gone through similar things.”

Matt Crouch didn’t play a senior game last season. Picture: Sarah Reed

Crouch said he did not want to be managed this year and hoped to play every game.

“I’m confident the body will hold up,” he said.

“I built pretty well through pre-season and it’s gone away so it’s been fine.”

Crouch was one of the Crows’ best in the 27-point trial-match loss to Port Adelaide at Richmond Oval on Saturday.

“It’s been good to get out there with the boys again and play some footy,” he said.

Just as Crouch has returned, Adelaide’s midfield will be dented by the loss of star Rory Laird for four to six weeks with a broken hand.

Laird sustained the injury in the third term on Saturday.

“He’s obviously a very good player but I feel like we’ve got some guys who can come I’m and play his role,” Crouch said.

“We saw on the weekend Sloaney had a really good game.

“We saw (Sam) Berry and (Luke) Pedlar on the weekend, and Jacko Hately played a good SANFL trial by all reports.”

Crouch said the team’s intensity around the ball was very good against the Power.

Adelaide planned to train until Thursday then have a three-day break over the weekend.