Adelaide not fazed by Smith's absence

Adelaide defender Brodie Smith has again missed his AFL club's main training session but the Crows say he's not in doubt for the semi-final against Hawthorn.

Adelaide Crows player Brodie Smith

Adelaide say defender Brodie Smith is not in doubt for the semi-final against Hawthorn. (AAP)

Adelaide's Brodie Smith has missed training again but the Crows say there's no alarm over the backman ahead of Friday night's AFL semi-final against Hawthorn.

Smith, troubled by an ankle injury, didn't join teammates at Adelaide's main training session on Wednesday - an identical situation to last week when he had to pass a match-eve fitness test to play in the elimination final.

"That is just a bit of precaution more than anything ... just looking after him and trying to get him right," Crows defender Ricky Henderson told reporters after training.

Smith, who injured an ankle and was substituted in Adelaide's last minor round game against Geelong, was sidelined on Wednesday as the Crows held a light closed training session.

"We didn't do a whole heap, obviously we have got the six-day turnaround so we're just trying to freshen up as much as we can," Henderson said.

The Crows have studied West Coast's tactics in the Eagles' qualifying final victory against Hawthorn, but Henderson says there's no secret formula.

"We have to pressure Hawthorn, that is one of the things that West Coast did really well," Henderson said.

"What they (West Coast) did, we all watched it.

"It's nothing new to what we have been trying to implement: try to pressure the ball and not let them play the game they want.

"Watching the game just reinforced what we are trying to do and how we can go about it."

While buoyed by their elimination final triumph against the Western Bulldogs, Henderson said Adelaide fell short in many key indicators in the fixture - most notably, winning stoppages.

"The midfield has to stand up this week," Henderson said.

"We lost the stoppages by 20 on the weekend which is probably one of the worst defeats we have had in that area for a long time. So that is probably one of the main areas that we will have to work on."


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world