INJURED Crows Nathan Bassett, Jason Porplyzia and Jon Griffin are on track to play in Launceston against Hawthorn on Sunday, according to coach Neil Craig.
Bassett (concussion) and Porplyzia (shoulder) were both victims of clashes with Port Adelaide tagger Matt Thomas, while Griffin landed heavily after taking a strong pack mark.
All three participated in Thursday’s main training session, but will need to do “a bit more” to prove they have fully recovered from their respective Showdown injuries.
“Nathan Bassett and Jon Griffin are very good concussion-wise; so all indications are that they will be okay,” Craig said after training.
“All indications are that Jason Porplyzia will be okay too, which is good from our point of view, because it wasn’t looking that good for a period of time.
“None of those guys completed a full session today, so they need to do a bit more, but they’re on track for selection and to play.
“They’re much more likely to play than not to play.”
But it wasn’t all good news on the injury front at West Lakes.
Kris Massie (hamstring) joined Luke Jericho on the list of casualties after being officially ruled out and unlucky defender Greg Gallman sustained another knee injury during training.
Gallman, who was taken to hospital two weeks ago with badly bruised ribs, twisted his knee awkwardly in a tackling drill and spent considerable time consulting with the doctors before limping off the ground.
The number of injured Crows players hit 13 during the week, but Craig said his team’s depth was “still okay”.
Onballers Rob Shirley and Bryce Campbell are expected to replace Massie and Jericho, but Craig also threw up a few more names that will be considered.
“James Sellar is, I think, in very good form and will get an opportunity- it’s just a matter of when that opportunity comes for him,” he said.
“Jarrhan Jacky has played very good football for Woodville-West Torrens and we’re very pleased with Jarrhan. Ivan Maric has, once again, been really patient in waiting for his opportunity and Andy Otten is doing some things at South.
“For a young fella, who has come out of under-18 football to go straight into league football at South and perform the way he is - Andy will be considered.
“Patrick Dangerfield played his first game for West Adelaide last week and, as I said last week, is not out of calculations.
“Once you start talking about Jacky, Otten and Dangerfield, you’re talking about guys in their first year of AFL footy, so you’re talking real inexperience, but that’s okay.”
The club reported a “few more sorer bodies” than usual on Monday following Sunday night’s bruising clash with the Power, but Craig was confident the team had recovered.
“All the measures that we take here, objective and subjective, have indicated that the guys have recovered and are ready to go,” he said.
“Just as importantly, from my point of view, is what you see on the track, which is more about the sharpness and the decision making. I thought they trained very well today.
“Physically it’s not an issue and mentally it’s a great opportunity for us.
“We understand who we’re playing against – a side that sits near the top of the table after three rounds and are playing good football.
“We’ll be really disappointed if we’re sitting here next week and saying that we were let down mentally.”
