Adelaide casts aside midfielder Bryce Gibbs again as co-captain Rory Sloane faces fitness test

Crows co-captain Rory Sloane faces a fitness test on his sore hamstring on Friday as Bryce Gibbs is again dumped at AFL selection.

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Adelaide’s midfield squeeze — with the return of 2017 club champion Matt Crouch and the recovery of co-captain Rory Sloane — has put Bryce Gibbs on the outer again.

And as the Crows deal with the threat of Greater Western Sydney’s engine-room speed for the Saturday night test at Adelaide Oval, coach Don Pyke also has cast aside out-of-contract hard-ball winner Hugh Greenwood.

Gibbs’ run of AFL games is now a yoyo sequence of playing one match and missing the next for the past 10 weeks. This is despite Gibbs proving himself capable of a shutdown role in the midfield as he tagged Melbourne playmaker Clayton Oliver last week.

Crows premiership coach Malcolm Blight on Thursday night expressed surprised in Sloane’s selection — and Gibbs’ axing.

Adelaide’s Bryce Gibbs, right, Sam Jacobs will play SANFL this weekend. Picture: Sarah Reed

“He did the job (as a tagger) last week — and there is Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio to deal with in that Giants team,” Blight said. “It doesn’t sound right (to ignore Gibbs for a shutdown role).”

While there will be external doubt on Sloane’s fitness — after sitting out Saturday’s two-point win against Melbourne in Darwin with a hamstring concern — Pyke has kept the inspirational midfielder in his match 22. The Crows concede there will be a fitness test on Sloane on Friday.

There are three unforced changes with the return of Crouch, 2010 club champion Richard Douglas and defender Kyle Hartigan. Crouch has cleared away a hip injury that cost him three AFL matches.

Douglas returns from the injury list for his first AFL game since the season-opener against Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval.

This trio replaces Gibbs, Greenwood and the versatile David Mackay. The Crows resisted recalling experienced ruckman Sam Jacobs, leaving Reilly O’Brien to work against Shane Mumford.

Adelaide’s Matt Crouch talks to his coach Don Pyke at the start of training on Thursday. Picture: Sarah Reed

As Adelaide on Thursday put 43 of its 44-listed players on the training track — with just defender Tom Doedee (knee) absent — Crows football chief Brett Burton noted “team balance” was paramount for dealing with the highly ranked Giants.

“It’s unfortunate for the guys who miss out because it’s less about the form of players and more about team balance,” Burton said.

“The Giants have three tall forwards so Hartigan comes in to provide us with another tall defender.”

Zac Williams of the GWS Giants during a training session in Sydney on Tuesday. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

GREATER Western Sydney has two changes — recalling smaller defender Zac Williams and promoting novice Sam Taylor.

They replace the injured Lachie Whitfield (broken collarbone) and Collingwood recruit Lachlan Keeffe.

“It’s disappointing Lachie (Whitfield) is going to miss the next three or four weeks of footy with his collarbone, but equally Zac Williams has recovered from his hamstring and Sam Taylor from his cork last week,” GWS coach Leon Cameron said.

PORT ADELAIDE has the bye, but will put two key players into action — forward Charlie Dixon and co-captain Ollie Wines — into SANFL action for the Magpies against Sturt at Alberton Oval on Saturday.

Charlie Dixon and Ollie Wines will return to footy through the SANFL this weekend 💪

ℹ️ https://t.co/m0jtuPzcnf#weareportadelaide pic.twitter.com/fqQEN13BjR

— Port Adelaide FC (@PAFC) June 6, 2019

Dixon will play his first competitive game of football since August 11 when he severely damaged his right ankle and broke his right leg. Wines will be resuming from a fractured leg suffered in Round 7 loss to Collingwood at the Melbourne Docklands on May 3.

Dixon and Wines passed fitness tests at Alberton Oval on Thursday morning. This enhances the prospects of Port Adelaide coming out of the AFL mid-season break this weekend with Dixon, Wines, vice-captain Hamish Hartlett and former vice-captain Brad Ebert (concussion) all capable of pushing for selection for the AFL clash with Fremantle at Perth Stadium on June 15.

ADELAIDE v GWS GIANTS

AO, 7:10pm ACST Saturday, June 8, 2019

ADELAIDE

B Luke Brown, Daniel Talia, Kyle Hartigan

HB Brodie Smith, Alex Keath, Wayne Milera

C Rory Atkins, Richard Douglas, Jordan Gallucci

HF Brad Crouch, Taylor Walker, Tom Lynch

F Lachlan Murphy, Josh Jenkins, Eddie Betts

FOL Reilly O’Brien, Matt Crouch, Rory Sloane

I/C Jake Kelly, Paul Seedsman, Cameron Ellis-Yolmen, Rory Laird

EMG Hugh Greenwood, Bryce Gibbs, David Mackay, Sam Jacobs

IN

Kyle Hartigan, Richard Douglas, Matt Crouch

OUT

Hugh Greenwood (Omitted), Bryce Gibbs (Omitted), David Mackay (Omitted)

GWS GIANTS

B Zac Williams, Sam Taylor, Heath Shaw

HB Adam Kennedy, Phil Davis, Nick Haynes

C Brett Deledio, Josh Kelly, Matt de Boer

HF Adam Tomlinson, Harry Himmelberg, Harry Perryman

F Brent Daniels, Jeremy Cameron, Toby Greene

FOL Shane Mumford, Stephen Coniglio, Jacob Hopper

I/C Isaac Cumming, Tim Taranto, Sam J. Reid, Jeremy Finlayson

EMG Jackson Hately, Aiden Bonar, Lachlan Keeffe, Daniel Lloyd

IN

Zac Williams, Sam Taylor

OUT

Lachlan Keeffe (Omitted), Lachie Whitfield (Injured)