PATRICK Dangerfield will play against Hawthorn on Friday night, but Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson says fellow midfielder Scott Thompson still has several hoops to jump through to be declared fit.
Thompson was subbed out of last Saturday’s win over Greater Western Sydney after receiving a knock to the back of his leg.
Match preview: Adelaide v Hawthorn
Swelling around his hamstring combined with a six-day break has meant the veteran has yet to prove his fitness.
Sanderson said it would prove "impossible" to keep Dangerfield from lining up on Friday night, while Ben Rutten, subbed out of the clash with the Giants in the first quarter after a knock to the head, would have to pass another concussion test on Friday morning.
He said fullback Daniel Talia would play but that Thompson would be given until the last minute to recover.
"Scott Thompson did everything we asked of him [on Thursday] but he might be a game-time decision for us," Sanderson said.
"He knows his body pretty well but we won't take a risk with him.
"[Dangerfield's] knee has settled down pretty well…I'm pretty confident with him."
If Thompson were to be a late withdrawal, Sanderson said Matt Crouch would be the player inserted into the senior side after collecting 42 possessions in the SANFL last weekend.
Rutten's replacement would be Luke Thompson.
Friday night's game is crucial for the Crows, who could secure a place in the top eight by upsetting the reigning premiers at Adelaide Oval.
Other than its inconsistency, Sanderson said that he had been happy with his side's form since it lost the opening three games of the season.
But he insisted talk was cheap if the playing group wasn't able to perform against one of the premiership favourites.
"We were 0-3, since that time we're actually 8-4," he said.
"So our record's pretty good, we're actually rising along quite nicely and even those four losses, three of them were by less than 10 points.
"We're quietly confident we're playing a good brand of footy…we hope we're playing the right style of footy, the right brand of footy at the right time of the year.
"I've talked up our form, it's a good thing to talk about it, we have to execute now.
"Words mean nothing - it's actions that are required, but our boys are jumping out of their skin to play well against Hawthorn."
Sanderson also dismissed suggestions the Hawks had been weakened by a loss of personnel.
Defender Brian Lake will miss the game through suspension, while Bradley Hill (knee) and Brad Sewell (hamstring) are also sidelined.
The Crows coach said that even without several important players, the Hawks still had easily enough talent to cause any side trouble.
"Hawthorn are really well coached, they're last year's premiers, they're always dangerous," he said.
"This is still a really dangerous side, we're going to have to be at our best to beat them."
