Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson has forecast an unhappy ending for Crows elder Graham Johncock, but says the out-of-favour veteran will play more AFL football.

Johncock will be overlooked for Adelaide’s indigenous round match against North Melbourne on Sunday, with Sanderson bluntly saying the 30-year-old isn’t in Adelaide’s best current 22 players.

But Sanderson said Johncock, who can test free agency waters at season’s end, would still play a role despite being snubbed for selection since round four.

“We’re not pushing him out the door yet,” Sanderson told reporters on Thursday.

“I want him to play more for us this season and I’m sure he’s got a big role to play.”

Johncock crafted his 227-game career as a backman but this season struggled in an attacking role.

“He’s not playing his best footy,” Sanderson said.

“I have been there as a player as well in my career, you look back as a 30-year-old and you think ‘I just can’t quite do what I used to do as a 26 or 27-year-old’, which can be really frustrating.

“But he has still got a lot to offer our footy club this year and he’s going to play for us again this season, I’m sure.

“He has got to force his way back in, which is hard sometimes for one of your legends of the footy club.

“But it’s something that a lot of guys have had to go through and if he is made of the right stuff, he will force his way back – I’m sure he is.”

But Sanderson warned that all players generally had an unhappy ending to their careers.

“I have never seen a player in my time in footy being happy to leave the game,” he said.

“It’s something that we all love and it’s very hard to let go. But that happens to us all. At some point, you have to retire.”