ADELAIDE assistant coach Mark Bickley says former Bomber Josh Jenkins is a chance of making a surprise return to the Crows team to take on the Hawks in Saturday's cut-throat preliminary final.

The 197cm Josh Jenkins thrust himself into selection calculations in his last SANFL game when he kicked eight goals for Sturt.

If Jared Petrenko does not recover from his injured right shoulder, the Crows may attempt to exploit Hawthorn's shorter-than-average full-back line (defenders Matt Suckling, Josh Gibson and Benjamin Stratton are all listed at below 190cm).

Bickley said Jenkins' chances of being selected were "slightly better" than they were last week against Fremantle.
 
"If it's not Jared, we've got plenty of other options … if we think picking three talls is the way to go, we'll have no hesitation in picking Josh," Bickley said.
 
"We've split that structure throughout the year in terms of when we've played three talls and when we've played two talls, we've had success with both and we've had failure with both.
 
"Last week…the forecast wet conditions, night game, that probably in some respects made it … harder for Josh to get in, easier for us to go with two.
 
"This week it will be a whole new ball game and he'll be judged on his merits again."
 
Petrenko hasn't been ruled out of Saturday's game and trained with the group on Monday, but with shoulder injuries likely to hinder his tackling performance, Bickley conceded he would be up against it to prove his fitness.
 
If Jenkins did replace Petrenko, he would join two other talls in Taylor Walker and Kurt Tippett who are in vastly different patches of form.
 
Walker proved the match-winner last Friday night with five crucial goals, while pressure on Tippett to lift his game only intensified after the 25-year-old managed just two marks and one goal.
 
Tippett's decision to put his contract talks with the Crows on hold until the end of the season was seen by many as a sign he would walk out on the club once its finals campaign was over.
 
Crows' inaugural coach Graham Cornes claimed the suspended negotiations had been "unsettling for the team", while Port Adelaide legend Warren Tredrea called for his axing in the lead-up to last Friday's semi final.
 
But Bickley maintained Tippett's value to Adelaide's team "can't be understated" and said that even the threat he posed for opposition defences was enough to guarantee him selection.
 
"On the weekend, Kurt takes the best defender and Taylor Walker takes the second best and kicks five goals, so his (Tippett's) position in the team is very, very important and I don't think can be understated," Bickley said.
 
"I'm certain that Alastair Clarkson would love to play a team minus Kurt Tippett, so he will be in our side."