ADELAIDE ''just have to roll with'' Rory Sloane's suspension and have the midfield depth to cover for the star midfielder, Crows defender Rory Laird says.
The Crows will be without Sloane – previously considered a top-five chance at the Brownlow Medal – for Friday night's crucial encounter with West Coast at Adelaide Oval.
Sloane on Tuesday accepted the one-game suspension for an early guilty plea offered by the Match Review Committee for a rough conduct charge on Port Adelaide's Brad Ebert in last Saturday night's Showdown.
If Sloane fought the charge and lost, he would have been banned for two games and sidelined for the first week of the finals.
"Losing Sloaney is disappointing for the club and the playing group," Laird told reporters.
"The positive in that is there are a lot of players who are playing well at SANFL level.
"You've got Mitch Grigg, you've got Wayne Milera, you've got Cam Ellis-Yolmen that was unlucky to miss after kicking three (goals) the other week, so there's a lot of depth through the midfield at the moment.
"I'm sure someone will come in and replace that void that Sloaney's left."
Ellis-Yolmen is the favourite to return to the side after looking solid in his one senior game this year.
The MRP's decision to charge Sloane for his contact on Ebert was seen as harsh in many circles.
"It's just disappointing for us," Laird said.
"Each player will have their different views on it and the MRP made the decision on what they thought was fair, so it's obviously disappointing for us.
"The decision they made is on the findings they found, so we just have to roll with that."
The Crows can finish anywhere from first to third if they beat the Eagles, but could drop as low as sixth with a loss.
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Laird said the Eagles couldn't be underestimated despite losing star ruckman Nic Naitanui for the season with a torn ACL.
Naitanui's injury means Scott Lycett will go up against Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs.
"I think they've got good depth there, I think Lycett is a very good player," Laird said.
"They're coming off a very good win against Hawthorn, which is never easy and (they) have hit their straps.
"We can't take them lightly.
"We'll look back at what we did against them when we got the win in Perth and try and replicate what we did."
