ANTHONY Corrie will play his first game for more than a year, when the Brisbane Lions take on Mark Ricciuto and the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium on Saturday night.
Corrie, promoted from the rookie list on Thursday, has not played since round nine against Fremantle in 2006 because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
The 23-year-old is one of five inclusions for the Lions. Mitch Clark, Troy Selwood, Josh Drummond and Cameron Wood come in to the side at the expense of Jamie Charman (calf), Scott Harding (knee), Jason Roe (suspended), and omitted pair Wayde Mills and Matthew Moody.
The Crows are always tough at home and will be aided by the inclusion of skipper Ricciuto, who returns from an ankle problem.
Whoever takes the field for Adelaide, Lions midfielder Michael Rischitelli expects a dog-fight. Ironically, Rischitelli made his debut against the Crows in Round 17 of 2004 – a game which the Lions won by a club-record 141 points.
“Footy is funny like that – obviously we played well that night but it just goes to show how much things can turn around in three years,” Rischitelli said.
“The last couple of years they’ve been a top-four side and they are the kind of team that really makes it tough and makes you work for everything.”
Teams
BRISBANE LIONS
B: Josh Drummond, Daniel Merrett, Troy Selwood
HB: Jed Adcock, Joel Patfull, Colm Begley
C: Tim Notting, Nigel Lappin, Cheynee Stiller
HF: Michael Rischitelli, Jonathan Brown, Robert Copeland
F: Richard Hadley, Jared Brennan, Matthew Leuenberger
FOLL: Cameron Wood, Simon Black, Luke Power
I/C: Justin Sherman, Mitch Clark, Chris Johnson, Anthony Corrie
EMG: Chris Scott, Wayde Mills, Will Hamill
ADELAIDE
B: Graham Johncock, Ben Rutten, Scott Stevens
HB: Andrew McLeod, Nathan Bock, Martin Mattner
C: Nathan van Berlo, Simon Goodwin, Brent Reilly
HF: Scott Welsh, Nick Gill, Scott Thompson
F: Jason Porplyzia, Mark Ricciuto, Brett Burton
FOLL: Ben Hudson, Robert Shirley, Tyson Edwards
I/C: John Meesen, Kris Massie, Jason Torney, Chris Knights
EMG: Michael Doughty, Richard Douglas, Luke Jericho
On the punt
Adelaide is traditionally strong at home but the Lions have won their past two games at AAMI Stadium against the Crows and are definitely over-the-odds at $2.90 on UNiTAB. Those two wins have come by 21 points (2004) and nine points (2005), making the $3.30 about a Lions win of 39 or less points attractive.
Jonathan Brown ($1.35) could all but wrap up the Coleman Medal this weekend with a solid goalkicking performance and has also firmed in the Brownlow Medal market to $7. The Lions remain good value in the betting for top-eight finishes at $4.75.
Key match-up
Matthew Leuenberger (Lions) v Ben Hudson (Crows) Leuenberger has been named in the forward pocket with freshly called-up teammate Cameron Wood as first ruck, but the 19-year-old is still likely to be called upon for crucial contribution in the absence of Jamie Charman. When Charman went down with a calf injury last week, Leuenberger stood up to the giant Sydney pairing of Peter Everitt and Darren Jolly, playing a key role in the Lions’ last-quarter revival.
Odds and sods
# What Neil Craig wouldn’t give to have Jonathan Brown in a Crows uniform! Scott Welsh is a handy forward option (43 goals) but is hardly a key-position type. Nathan Bock is probably Adelaide’s best option in that department and his 27 majors to date hardly stack up next to Brown’s league-leading 69.
# Speaking of Brown and his goal-kicking, the big forward has overcome some early-season hiccups to be converting better than any of his chief rivals in the Coleman Medal race. With 69.35, Brown has been more accurate than Matthew Pavlich (65.41), Lance Franklin (60.45) and Brendan Fevola (59.41) and isn’t far behind Essendon’s notoriously dead-eyed Matthew Lloyd (57.26)
# Entering the final two rounds of the season, the Crows have beaten four of the top-eight sides – Port Adelaide (twice), Sydney, the Kangaroos and Hawthorn. The Lions have also beaten five – West Coast, the Kangaroos, Hawthorn, Collingwood and St Kilda – and, of course, drew last week with Sydney.
