Adelaide will be without Taylor Walker in their Round 1 clash against Gold Coast at People First Stadium on Saturday night.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks confirmed the news on SEN SA The Run Home after Walker tweaked his back picking up his child at home.
While Walker did some work at the club’s main training session on Wednesday, Nicks says he simply wasn’t fully fit and ready to take on the Crows this weekend.
“He won't play, unfortunately,” Nicks said on SEN SA The Run Home.
“It’s not quite what we were after today, there won’t be a risk with that.
“We’re not falling apart by any means but it’s not ideal when you lose the experience with Tex.
“That disappointment turns into an opportunity for someone else.
“We’ve got a few guys that are ready to step up and take their opportunity.
“We'll go in with a different forward line, but by no means one we’ll be disappointed with.
“We're excited about what we can take up to the Gold Coast.”
With Riley Thilthorpe sidelined with a meniscus injury, Nicks confirmed that Lachie Gollant and former Sun Chris Burgess are both likely to play in the key duo’s absence. “Both Burgess and Gollant are more than likely, we had our main session today,” Nicks said.
“They’re more than likely to be the two that come in. We need a second ruckman to come in … Burgess is the guy that we brought to the club that can play a number of different roles.
“He’s a goalkicking forward but he has played a lot of ruck across his career.
“He deserves the opportunity, since day one arriving at the club he’s earned the respect of our entire group.”
Nicks says that the main reason why Walker won’t play is because they’re looking at the season as a marathon, not a sprint and that there’s simply no reason to take a risk with the 33-year-old’s health.
“There are 23 rounds, we don’t want to get it wrong in Round 1,” Nicks said.
“We don’t want to push him too hard and suddenly it’s a longer time out of the game.
“We won’t take a risk with it.”
Saturday night’s clash between the Suns and Crows begins at 8:10 pm (AEDT).
