Bock set to return for Buddy battle

ADELAIDE defender Nathan Bock appears set to resume his battle with Hawthorn star Lance Franklin when the two sides go head-to-head at AAMI Stadium on Sunday.

Bock, 26, was rated a chance to play against Carlton last week, but the club opted to take a conservative approach with its only All-Australian from 2008.

The creative centre half-back is rated a ‘test’ on the Crows’ official injury list, but teammate Ben Rutten said he expected Bock to be fit to take on the Hawks.

“'Bocky' trained over the weekend and is looking like being available. That will be a bonus for us in defence against a couple of key forwards for Hawthorn,” Rutten said on Monday.

“If we get 'Bocky' back, obviously, he’ll play a fairly big role in defence. He has played well on Franklin in the past, so it will be good to have him available for that contest.

“I’ve missed him a little bit [in defence]. Scott Stevens has done a reasonable job since he’s been back there, but it’s always good to have numbers available.”

The Adelaide defence, which has conceded an average of 93 points this season compared to 85 in 2008, held Carlton goalless in the first half last Saturday.

Rutten said the Crows’ quicker, high-risk game plan had left the back six slightly more vulnerable than in previous years.

“There has been some personnel change, and the whole zoning concept has created differences for teams both offensively and defensively,” he said.

“Also, our win-loss record [suggests] we haven’t been playing the type of footy we would’ve liked [on a consistent basis] and that makes it harder to stop opposition teams scoring.

“We have a new group of players with Andy Otten, Nathan van Berlo and Simon Goodwin playing back there, so we’re still gelling a bit, and I think we’re getting better and better each week.”

The Hawks should also receive a boost at the selection table this week with Stuart Dew, Clinton Young and Xavier Ellis all expected to play.

Rutten admitted toppling the resurgent reigning premiers on Sunday would be a tough ask, but said his side had regained invaluable belief after last week’s 44-point win over Carlton.

“In the previous three weeks, we’d been in reasonable positions and played some reasonable footy but hadn’t been able to finish the job and get the win, which is pretty important in this game,” Rutten said.

“Above all else, the ability to finish the game and get the result we needed was a big positive for us.”