HE WILL play against Fremantle on Sunday, but Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson says superstar forward Taylor Walker might need a rest in the coming weeks as the club runs into a number of short turnarounds between games.
Walker was on fire last weekend against Gold Coast, booting five goals in his best game since returning from a knee reconstruction.
But the 24-year-old's compression bandage on his calf at training early in the week sparked speculation his workload might be eased in his continued recovery from the injury.
Of Adelaide's 11 games remaining after this weekend, six will be played off six-day breaks.
Sanderson said Walker would be monitored closely throughout the second half of the season and treated 'cautiously' in regards to his workload.
"I think he had a corky in the calf but that's nothing out of the ordinary – he's fine, the knee's strong," Sanderson said.
"Last week's game he ran further and [at] the highest speeds that we've seen in the three games back.
"We have got some bands of six-day breaks coming up so he, like every player, will just analyse their wellness log, we have to be smart with all of our players but certainly Tex.
"Some high intensity games and six-day breaks we'll be a little bit cautious with some guys and he probably falls into that category."
Sanderson all but confirmed ruckman Sam Jacobs would face off against Docker Aaron Sandilands despite battling a corked hip, suffered against the Suns last weekend.
Having trained fully on Friday, Sanderson said that when Jacobs flew to Perth on Saturday he'd play.
"He looks good, he got through the full session today … he didn't look restricted, he did some ruck work, he did some controlled contact so it looked like he'll be fine to play," he said.
"You would have seen him down at the beach every night [this week] wading through the water and he's been getting physio treatment every day.
"If he gets on the plane tomorrow he's almost certainly going to play."
Even in the likely event that Jacobs did line up, Sanderson wouldn't expect the in-form big man to win his midfielders the majority of first use of the ball against the tallest man in football.
Instead, the Crows will look to out-manoeuvre Fremantle's elite midfield at ground level and pick off Sandilands' taps themselves.
"He's a unique ruckman, Sandilands, in that he's 10cm taller than the next tallest ruckman he ever plays against," Sanderson said.
"He's the number one hit-out player this year … 'Sauce' (Jacobs) will still win his fair share of hit-outs, but we have to understand that this will be a week that we'll be sharking Sandilands' hit-outs as well."
