DEFENSIVE bull Jake Kelly is likely to get first crack at Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield if the Brownlow medallist plays as a deep forward in Friday night's blockbuster with Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.
Dangerfield is rated a 40 per cent chance of overcoming a foot injury in time to face his former side in the top of the table encounter.
The superstar Cat turned in a remarkable performance against Hawthorn last weekend, booting five goals from 11 scoring shots after the injury forced him to stay inside the attacking 50.
Kelly has been one of the unsung heroes for the Crows this season, establishing himself in the side after not playing a game last year.
The 22-year-old usually plays as part of the Crows' team defence, but he was superb when given a specific role on Bulldog Jake Stringer two weeks ago.
"Jake Kelly did a job on Stringer and he's just an animal to play with," utility Andy Otten said on Wednesday.
"If we bring in one of these newer players, whether it will be (Tom) Doedee or (Alex) Keath, I'm sure they would do the job as well and I'm an option as well.
"We do have options down there, but we will stick with our system we've been playing all year and shuffle around from there.
"He (Dangerfield) is just another player that we'll have to worry about in a very good Geelong side."
The Crows have lost their past five games against the Cats, most recently suffering a 22-point defeat in round 11 at Simonds Stadium.
On that night, the Cats kept the Crows out of the middle of the ground and limited the impact of attacking half-back flankers Brodie Smith and Rory Laird.
"We just can't be easy to play against," Otten said.
"We thought we were a bit safe with our ball movement last time against Geelong and they kind of did what they wanted.
"We've been working on that in the last few weeks, our intercept play, really get the ball moving, getting the ball into Smithy and Lairdy's hands and be able to run and carry and break some lines and play a bit more bravely and with a bit more risk.
"The last few weeks we've been able to do that.
"All of a sudden, Taylor Walker, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch and Mitch McGovern in the forward line have reaped the benefits of that."
