Adelaide Crows recall Bryce Gibbs while Josh Jenkins to play in the SANFL for third straight week

Key forward Josh Jenkins will spend a third straight week in the SANFL after the Crows made just one change — recalling midfielder Bryce Gibbs — for Sunday’s clash with Fremantle.

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KEY forward Josh Jenkins will spend a third straight week in the SANFL after the Crows made just one change — recalling midfielder Bryce Gibbs — for Sunday’s clash with Fremantle.

Gibbs missed last week’s win over St Kilda due to a bout of gastro and had also hurt his back earlier in the week.

He comes back into the side to play the Dockers at Adelaide Oval on Sunday afternoon at the expense of Myles Poholke who has been dropped for the second time this season.

Coach Don Pyke is sticking with mobile young gun Elliott Himmelberg as the team’s second ruckman/forward to face Fremantle and it will make for an intriguing week leading up to next week’s Showdown.

Jenkins will play in the SANFL against Norwood on Friday night and Pyke expects him back in the senior side soon.

Adelaide player Josh Jenkins in the SANFL. Picture: AAP Image/ Morgan Sette

“The first thing to understand is he’s (Jenkins) a really highly valued player within our group, and clearly going out of the team is never easy for anyone, and last week he showed some really positive signs and returning to the form we know he’s capable of,” Pyke said.

“We’ll let selection take its due course but he’s in a better space now, obviously the initial going out of the team is a challenge for any player but he’s got real clarity what it looks like in that role and I expect him to be back playing really strong footy in the near future.”

Fremantle — which sits second on the ladder — goes into the game unchanged.

Pyke said the one change to the team which beat St Kilda last round had made for some interesting discussion at match committee this week.

“We’ve had good discussion at match committee about the team, because clearly the last two weeks we’ve played some good footy,” Pyke said.

“That makes it hard to get guys into the team and guys that have played OK to go out of the team, so it’s a difficult spot to be in but a good spot to be in because there is genuine selection pressure which is what you want.

“Good discussion about what the balance of the team looks like, guys playing roles … it’s not all about possessions it’s about the role they play and some of the work they do in the contest around the ball.

“There’s a fine line between in or out of the team and it’s not so much sympathy it’s empathy for these guys that sometimes this happens in footy, it’s not idea for the individual but everyone’s been there.”

He said Gibbs — who was dropped for the Round 4 loss to North Melbourne — was fully fit and healthy again.

“It was tough for Bryce last week, he jammed up his back earlier in the week and then he picked up the gastro bug which knocked him around,” Pyke said.

“Pleasingly he’s come out of that really well, he’s been able to train and is available.”

Adelaide has arrested a season that threatened to spiral out of control after a loss to North Melbourne left them at 1-3 with back-to-back wins over Gold Coast and St Kilda. And Pyke said they’d gone back to basics to turn it around.

“We’ve done a fair bit of work in that space (contested ball) and we understand when we’re playing our best footy we are strong in the contest and that’s not just at the stoppage that’s ahead and behind the ball.

“That gives you the ability to win your share and put pressure on the opposition with some field position which we weren’t able to do against North Melbourne.

“We went back to what we know will start for us creating winning and that’s around our effort in the contest and ability to keep pressure on the ball.

“Strategy and tactics and structure is only so valuable if you can actually get your share of first use of the ball.”

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