THERE was one man relieved to see no Eddie Betts in Adelaide's team this week.

Having prepared to face his former teammate on Saturday, Carlton interim coach David Teague said the Blues are "happy" to not have to find a way to counter the Crows star.

Betts was sensationally dropped from Adelaide's team for this week's clash against his former side, despite a season in which he has still managed 32 goals from 17 games.

However, the veteran forward has been held goalless in three of his last four matches, with the Crows instead opting for lively alternative Tyson Stengle in his place.

Betts – who represented Carlton for 184 of his 312 AFL games – will now return to the SANFL, where he'll meet Glenelg on Saturday afternoon.

And Teague, who played alongside Betts at the Blues for three seasons between 2005 and 2007, revealed he was thankful that he wouldn't have to devise a plan to thwart him.

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"It was mixed emotions," Teague said of when he heard the news.

"I was disappointed for our fans, everybody loves watching Eddie play football. I know the Carlton fans still love Eddie and they would have loved another opportunity to watch him play.

"His numbers stack up quite well, so in terms of coaching against him I'm pretty happy about that."

Carlton made one change itself for the clash on Saturday, with Andrew Phillips replacing veteran ruckman Matthew Kreuzer – who has been managed after 10 successive matches.

It means former No.3 draft pick Paddy Dow returns to football through the VFL, having missed last week's victory over Gold Coast due to an illness.

Dow hasn't managed to win more than 10 disposals in each of his last four matches, with Teague saying he was hopeful the youngster could find some confidence with the Northern Blues.

"He's nearly over it," Teague said of Dow's illness.

"We just want him to go back, get his hands on the footy and play well.

"We look forward to getting him back into the side shortly, because he's going to be a very good player for this football club."

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