On Monday Bock, 26, was indefinitely suspended from the Crows after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend outside an Adelaide hotel on Saturday night.
The All-Australian was granted time away from the club to start putting the steps of his rehabilitation into place but trained at West Lakes away from the main group on Wednesday.
Craig said an eight-day-break between games had helped the club deal with the situation adequately, while also focusing on the all-important round three clash.
“It (Bock indiscretion) certainly took our eye off the ball early in the week because those sorts of incidents require a lot (of attention),” Craig said on Thursday.
“It took probably the whole of Monday and for a lot of people Sunday, but particularly all Monday was taken up with decision-making.”
Craig said Bock was keen to train with his teammates under the media and public glare on Thursday.
“Nathan still hasn’t fully recovered mentally from the whole ordeal and that’s understandable because he’s paid a big price,” Craig said.
“Being in the public area is an additional stress that people in this industry have to put up with.
“I’m not trying to say it’s unfair but that’s what we have to deal with and it does take a bit of time for that to subside. I spoke to Nathan at length yesterday and he trained here yesterday afternoon. He’s starting to improve each day.”
Bock’s absence has denied Craig and his Crows the ideal match-up for Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich.
Scott Stevens (hamstring) got through Thursday’s long training session and could return to the side to tackle Pavlich.
Forward Kurt Tippett has a headache after copping a knock to the head during the warm-up and Patrick Dangerfield is nursing a sore jaw after a separate incident.
Neither is considered in any doubt.
Ben Rutten, who left the track with adductor tightness before rejoining his teammates, has played on Pavlich in the past and is another option at Adelaide’s disposal.
Craig also mentioned under-sized skipper Simon Goodwin and the inexperienced Andy Otten as potential candidates for the job.
Craig said he expected a highly-motivated performance from Fremantle this week.
“Hopefully, it will be a good head-to-head battle because we’ve got a lot to play for and they’ve got a lot to play for being a home game and 0-2,” Craig said.
In other news, midfielder Chris Knights, who has a fractured eye-socket, does not require surgery and is likely to miss just three games.
