Adelaide Crows eager to finish the season with back-to-back wins and salvage personal pride from a difficult season
PERSONAL pride and a springboard into pre-season is enough motivation for Adelaide to finish the season with consecutive wins this weekend, as the club confirms Tom Doedee will miss the rest of the season and Taylor Walker has undergone foot surgery.
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PERSONAL pride and a springboard into pre-season is enough motivation for Adelaide to finish the season with consecutive wins this weekend despite its finals dream being over.
As the club revealed captain Taylor Walker had foot surgery Monday morning, assistant coach Scott Camporeale said while there was no tangible reward for beating Carlton this weekend, the players wanted to end the season strongly and back up Sunday’s nine-point win over North Melbourne.
“We want to make sure we finish the year on a high and collectively on a really good note,” he said.
“We want to be playing finals but that’s not going to happen, but in these times where you’re not then you can leapfrog into next year.
“So we want to make sure we stand for something as a club and a group and finish the year well.
“Normally you are playing for something but technically they’re not, but there are still things we can get out of the year as a club and individuals.”
Camporeale confirmed rising star contender Tom Doedee will miss Saturday’s game against the Blues with a suspected broken collarbone, but said Alex Keath (hamstring), Brodie Smith (calf) and Daniel Talia (leg) would all train in a bid to return from injury.
He had high praise for young defender Doedee who made his AFL debut in Round 1 and played 20 games for the season.
“He (Doedee) slotted in really well and with what Jake (Lever) was able to do last year, they’re similar players and Jake held him out of the team for the most part,” Camporeale said.
“He was able to get himself fit over the pre-season and I think he’s had an outstanding year, his courage and the way he works in that back six especially for a young guy to come in and have that sort of influence in his first year of senior footy has been outstanding.”
Walker, meantime, had foot surgery Monday morning to repair the plantar fascia in his left foot which troubled him throughout the season.
Crows head of football Brett Burton said the club decided to make best use of Walker’s season being cut short due to a two-week suspension for his sling tackle on GWS star Josh Kelly.
“Importantly, he will be able to complete a thorough rehabilitation program and be ready to go for the start of pre-season training,” Burton told the club’s website.
Eddie Betts took a high-flying mark and kicked a game-sealing goal in the last 15 seconds against North Melbourne on the weekend which took his season tally to 26 compared to hauls of 55, 75, 63 and 51 in his four previous years at Adelaide.
“It was a nice way (for him) to finish, we’d like him to be doing a bit more of that, he’s a special player and does those great things for us, and those things get highlighted but it’s his chase and tackle and pressure that we really love,” Camporeale said.
The Crows’ midfield coach also had high praise for veteran defender Andy Otten who held Ben Brown goalless but he was unable to confirm whether he would be offered a new contract.
“It’s significant for us, I’m not sure how many times Ben has been held goalless for the year (three), and to only four possessions, but that’s the trust we’ve got in him, he’s an experienced player and has played with that back group,” Camporeale said.
“He was a crucial part of us winning (on Sunday).
“He’s engaged in the group, he wants to keep engaged in here and play here obviously and has done no harm that’s for sure.
“We’ll wait and see by the end of the year, I’m not on list management but we’ll wait and see what the list looks like.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au
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