INJUREDAdelaide captain Nathan van Berlo will spend his time on the sidelines in theclub's coaching box, helping to fill strategy and innovation coach DeanBailey's indefinitely vacated position.
Baileyis receiving ongoing treatment after being diagnosed with cancer last November.
Theclub said it would give Bailey all the time he needed to beat the illness andhasn't nominated a return date for the former Melbourne coach.
VanBerlo will miss at least six months with a ruptured Achilles tendon, duringwhich time Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane will act as on-fieldco-captains.
CoachBrenton Sanderson said that during his rehabilitation van Berlo would prove amassive asset for the coaching group.
"Nathan'sgoing to quickly become an integral part of our coaching group particularlywhile we don't have Dean Bailey with us," Sanderson said.
"It'sthe perfect fit for us that Nathan can come in, he's just so well schooled withour game plan and how we play, he's going to be another valuable set of eyes onmatch day.
"We'vealready got him busy conducting training sessions and spending a lot of time,as he already does, with our younger group."
The27-year-old skipper was reappointed to the position on Friday and receivedunanimous backing from Sanderson, Sloane and Dangerfield despite his inabilityto play until August at the earliest.
SamJacobs and Scott Thompson retained their places in the seven-man leadershipgroup, while Jason Porplyzia made way for first-timers Taylor Walker andRichard Douglas.
WhileDangerfield and Sloane will handle game day responsibilities, they will stepaside from the captaincy role upon van Berlo's return.
"We'renot the best men for the job at the moment," Dangerfield said.
"Thebest man is the one that's outside the room, it's 'VB'.
"We'llwarm the seat while the skipper's out and then when he comes back we'll supporthim."
VanBerlo is the latest AFL player to suffer a ruptured Achillles, followingRichmond's Nathan Foley, Hawthorn's Jarryd Roughead and North Melbourne'sAndrew Swallow in recent seasons.
Hespoke to Swallow last week and said he would continue to seek the Kangaroocaptain's advice on his return from the significant injury.
"Ihad a good chat with Andrew last week and he was really good to pass on a fewwise words from his experience and I told him I'll keep in touch with him justto pick his brain," van Berlo said.
"Ispoke to him about early stages in your rehab it was basically about justgiving you the best chance to recover early days, and to be patient with it.
"Wehaven't had a serious Achilles injury here at the footy club. I know we've gotsome great expertise but it also helps to have someone to bounce ideas offwho's been through a similar situation."
