Brodie Smith returns for Adelaide Crows as Port Adelaide drops debutant will Lorenz

He had to wait until the third quarter to get a taste of AFL football, but Will Lorenz will have to wait even longer before he gets another after being dropped by the Power.

He was the sub in his debut game and now Will Lorenz is back in the SANFL as Port Adelaide makes two changes to take on the Western Bulldogs.

Lorenz had to wait until the third quarter to taste his first AFL minutes against St Kilda on Sunday.

He will have to wait some more for his next minutes at the top level after he was omitted by the Power for the clash at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The wingman is one of two players who drops out of the Power’s side, with Josh Sinn to miss with a quad complaint.

Jase Burgoyne comes in after he recovered from a minor hamstring strain and is joined by small forward Francis Evans.

The Power have named Lachie Jones despite sustaining a mild sprain of the lateral ligament in his knee, while Willie Rioli will return to action via the SANFL after last playing in the win over North Melbourne in May because of a calf issue and then illness.

Despite coming off against the Saints with a hamstring issue, scans cleared Todd Marshall of any injury and he has been named.

The Power will again go in with two key defenders with Esava Ratugolea to miss another week with his hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks says the Crows will likely go with a younger player over a more experienced one if there a 50/50 call at selection.

But dropped veteran Brodie Smith has come back into the Crows side to take on Brisbane with Nicks saying the leadership group member “is a big part of our future” and has “smashed the door down”.

Riley Thilthorpe will spend another week in the SANFL, with Nicks wary of making too many changes to the side that got back on the winners list.

Brodie Smith will return for the Crows. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

The Crows snapped its losing streak against GWS on the weekend, providing some much needed relief to the pressure the club and Nicks have been facing over the past month.

The Crows have made one change to that side, with defender Will Hamill facing three to four weeks on the sidelines after he had surgery on a hand injury.

“So that creates an opportunity for someone else, but Will was going so well this year,” Nicks said.

“He found his groove and really sort of made that spot his own.”

Before teams were named Nicks said first round draftee Dan Curtin and fellow youngster Hugh Bond were pushing.

But Smith, who has been down on form this year and a whipping boy for fans online, was named on the ground in a return to the senior team after he was one of the best on the ground for the Crows in the SANFL against Glenelg.

“He has done everything that we asked Brodie, he has gone back and performed the way we wanted him to,” Nicks said.

Smith has played 259 games for the Crows and Nicks backed him to add to this in 2024 and 2025.

“Of course I do, I’ve been really pleased with him,” he said.

“The challenge we have put to him over the last month, he has been outstanding in that.

“His leadership, his experience back there.

“He did some stuff that will be rewarded within, but might not be recognised externally.

“He is a big part of our future, he is a big part of where we are at as a footy club as it is from the service he has given and there is more to come.”

Originally published as Brodie Smith returns for Adelaide Crows as Port Adelaide drops debutant will Lorenz