Adelaide Crows must go to the AFL tribunal and Port Adelaide needs to dust off 2016 playbook

ROUND One leaves the Crows and Power with big - but simple - decisions to make at their football meetings on Monday morning, writes Sports Editor at Large, Michelangelo Rucci.

An injured Patrick Ryder of the Power on the bench.

OH, to be a fly on the wall on Monday morning when the Crows and Port Adelaide football departments meet.

At West Lakes, Adelaide football chief Brett Burton has until 11am to decide if the Crows will challenge AFL match review officer’s one-game ban on seasoned midfielder Richard Douglas.

The $10,000 deposit for the tribunal hearing is not the issue. Club chairman Rob Chapman would sign that e-cheque from his own account.

Richard Douglas stands over Zach Merrett after they clashed.

As with Port Adelaide, in the Robbie Gray case, the Crows have to make a stand for one of their valued players. It will be a futile stand, as the AFL has made it clear where it stands on the concussion issue. The bump is dead.

There is no point in comparing - as some have - the AFL’s stand on Brownlow Medallist Trent Cotchin’s bump in last year’s preliminary final and the Douglas bump. Christian is the start of a new judiciary process. The past is irrelevant. The present - and future - demands Christian be consistent.

The basic facts that Douglas over ran the ball to bump Essendon midfielder Zac Merrett, that the Bomber was put out of the game by the bump and the Gray incident is the marker for this season mean that the tribunal hearing can only be a protest. But one that needs to be made.

At Alberton, Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley needs to dust down his files from 2016 when he was denied lead ruckman Patrick Ryder with the WADA ban from the Essendon supplements saga. Now he is to lose the All-Australian with an Achilles injury.

Hinkley can repeat his 2016 playbook when he mixed the ruck duties with the evergreen Justin Westhoff, centre half-back Jackson Trengove and key forward Charlie Dixon. He still has Westhoff, whose ruck work and field play, remains most effective, even at 31. And he has a genuine ruck option at centre half-back with the fast-improving Dougal Howard.

This opens the AFL door for defender Jack Hombsch more so than the untried Billy Frampton.

Hinkley has more upside in working a proven system than grabbing a one-for-one replacement for Ryder.

Originally published as Adelaide Crows must go to the AFL tribunal and Port Adelaide needs to dust off 2016 playbook