Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Adelaide expect All Australian contender Wayne Milera to be among a quartet of returning players this weekend.
Milera has missed the past three games with a hamstring strain but appears a certain starter for Saturday night’s home game against Gold Coast.
The fifth-placed Crows also have imposing forward Riley Thilthorpe back from illness, while Callum Ah Chee and Luke Pedlar could return from hamstring strains in the state league.
“We’re very mindful of getting ahead of ourselves because we haven’t yet had a week where we got through unscathed and haven’t had a late change,” Crows coach Matthew Nicks said.
Milera was held back last week as an added precaution, with the Crows acknowledging his dash at halfback as vital to a finals tilt.
“He’s right up there in All Australian discussions, as he should be,” Nicks said.
“Him not being there has challenged us, but it’s been great that guys have been able to step up … but we look forward to him being available, hopefully.”
Dual Brisbane premiership player Ah Chee has had a wretched run in Adelaide: four hamstring injuries and playing just four AFL games.
Ah Chee initially hurt a hamstring in February playing for Western Australia against Victoria in State of Origin’s return.
The versatile ex-Lion has played consecutive games twice, then been hamstrung again but Nicks hopes he can get a decent run into the finals.
“We’re in dialogue with Cal around his experiences, and the way he’s worked in the past,” Nicks said.
“There’s no perfect way to come back, every player is different, so we’re just working our way through that with with Cal.
“We’re not going to throw him in the deep end. We know how important he is to us and we want him there at the business end of the season.”
Small forward Pedlar has also been beset by injury troubles, just 49 games in six seasons for the No.11 pick at the 2020 draft.
But his AFL return won’t come against the Suns, who are a on a six-game losing skid and have plunged to 14th.
“Don’t look at win-loss; it’s not always about win-loss,” Nicks said when asked about Adelaide’s overwhelming favouritism.
“When you see how close the ladder is at the moment, there are 10 or 12 teams that are fighting out.
“It’s going to be similar to last year, where it comes right down to the wire,.
“They (the Suns) have lost some games that maybe they could have won. There’s a lot of teams in that same boat.”
