On paper it’s a simple a change to make for AFL club Adelaide: a forward for a forward.
But the reality of Taylor Walker’s return and the injury-enforced omission of Tom Lynch is a little more complex according to fellow forward Josh Jenkins.
Walker has recovered from a knee reconstruction and played two games in the SANFL, making him a certain starter in Thursday week’s clash with Collingwood at Adelaide Oval.
It is a timely boost for the Crows, who enter the bye reeling from a shock loss to Melbourne and in Lynch’s case a fractured jaw that will force him to miss up to six weeks.
Jenkins, who announced on Monday he had signed a two-year contract extension with Adelaide, suggested Walker’s presence alone would add a lot to the side.
But the 25-year-old believed the Crows’ entire forward line would need to work hard to fill the void left by Lynch’s hard running.
“His running ability and work ethic is probably unmatched at our club,” Jenkins said.
“We (forwards) are probably all going to have to fill that void.
“Five-minute bursts, that’s probably a way we can do it, instead of trying to lob it on one guy’s shoulders.”
Adelaide have the bye in round eight, giving Walker another week to prepare for his first AFL match since rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament against Carlton in round five last year.
“He’s an organiser and an orchestrator of everything we try and do and he’s the vocal and spiritual leader almost of the whole group,” Jenkins said of Walker.
“To get him back in terms of his presence is going to be amazing, and whatever he can bring performance wise will be a bonus.
“It’s going to be unfair on him to expect him to win any games for us in the near future, but just having him out there will lift a lot of the guys.”
The Crows will need a lift, having fallen to the Demons at Adelaide Oval after a first half coach Brenton Sanderson termed “inexcusable”.
“The reality is that we’ve got to get on with it, otherwise one poor loss will turn into two or three,” Jenkins said.
Patrick Dangerfield has an ankle sprain, but the club expects he will be right to tackle the in-form Magpies.
