Davis, 19, made a slow start in his first year at the club as he recovered from shoulder surgery, but was on the verge of an AFL debut late last season after being named an emergency on several occasions.
He has impressed at both ends of the ground this summer and coach Neil Craig said the 195cm utility was likely to play in defence against the Power, with centre half-back Nathan Bock set to miss with a calf strain.
“With Nathan Bock not playing there’s a real possibility Phil could slot into defence”, Craig said on Wednesday.
“He’ll certainly come under consideration as will James Sellar because we’re keen to look at him in defence as well. Guys like Phil, Tony Armstrong, Rory Sloane and Shaun McKernan ... will push up into the 26-man squad, if not this week than certainly in the weeks to come.”
Nathan van Berlo (back), Brad Symes (knee), Brad Moran (knee), Jason Porplyzia (pelvis) and Andy Otten (knee) are all unavailable for selection, while midfielder Scott Thompson will have a week off to nurse a sore knee.
But Craig said everyone else was available and expected to play.
“We won’t be resting people. If they’ve got any niggling injuries - like for example Scott Thompson - they won’t play but if it was for four points they would,” Craig said.
“Bock we haven’t pushed that hard on the track, but if it was for four points we’d probably play him - we won’t take those sort of risks.”
The Crows will use the pre-season competition to find a replacement for Otten in defence and also work on specific aspects of their game, including ball movement into attack, scores from stoppages and their proficiency at the kick-ins.
The coaches will also experiment with players in different positions, with veterans Simon Goodwin, Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards likely to be rotated around the ground.
Adelaide is banking on its young players to help take the club to a top-four finish this season, but Craig said it was just as important that the seasoned players continued to improve.
“They [the older players] are going to [drop off] at some stage, aren’t they? They’re not supermen. All I can say is that they’ve given themselves every opportunity with the way they’ve prepared to have outstanding seasons,” he said.
“Simon Goodwin is probably in the best shape I’ve ever seen him. He’s missed very little training and he’s been outstanding. It’s a credit to all those guys.”
