"It's terrific to get him back in the team," Evans said. "We've missed his run so we're pleased that he's right to go."

Evans said that the club is not surprised that Crawford has again succumbed to his ongoing knee complaint.

"We’ve been aware for the last month that Shane was going to have to manage this knee issue from week to week," he said. "With this being a six-day turnaround, it was always going to be hard for him to get up for the game."

However, Evans added he is confident that Crawford’s injury won’t be long term.

"We’ve taken some good comfort from the fact that it settles down quickly but it’s hard to predict from week to week how it will respond," he said. "We’ll always have to wait until the start of each week to see how he is and plan that week out accordingly."

Midfielder Jordan Lewis is named as an emergency, available after recovering from a quad injury, but will play for Box Hill this weekend to regain match fitness.

Stuart Dew and Ben McGlynn are also available for selection but won’t line up against the Saints on Saturday night.

"Both Stuart and Ben are probably right to play now but we’ve given them the opportunity to have one or two weeks of additional training," he said. "We’re mindful of the fact that we don’t want to rush them straight back and have them re-injured.

"We’re taking the opportunity for them to get a more solid base because of the games they’ve missed."

Tim Clarke and Cameron Stokes join Lewis as emergencies after they impressed in the VFL last weekend, while Beau Dowler is also pushing for selection after a career-high 29 disposals for the reserves.

"It’s terrific to see him getting so much of the ball and in such good touch," Evans said. "It’s a very handy thing for us to have him pushing for selection as well."