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AAP
AAP
Sport
Justin Chadwick

No Showdown strut for Crows with Dockers on the horizon

Matthew Nicks says five-goal star Riley Thilthorpe (l) must expect special attention from Fremantle. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks insists there will be no strutting this week as his men attempt to back up their gutsy Showdown triumph with a win over Fremantle on Saturday.

The Crows bounced back from losses to GWS and Richmond with a 31-point victory over arch-rivals Port Adelaide last week.

Forward Riley Thilthorpe enjoyed a breakout game with five goals, while recruit Izak Rankine was also influential with four majors.

But rather than basking in the afterglow of a splendid Showdown win, Adelaide have set their sights on toppling the Dockers at Adelaide Oval.

"We're straight onto Freo ... not a lot of strutting," Nicks told reporters on Wednesday.

"We come up against a side that last year were right up towards the top, they still are.

"They have some weapons. They've got some things we're going to have to counter.

"But we also look at how we're playing, and we'd like to think they're going to have to adjust slightly for the way we play our footy."

With Darcy Fogarty to miss another week with a knee injury, Thilthorpe again looms as a key player in attack for the Crows.

Nicks expects Fremantle to put extra focus into the 20-year-old.

"We've got no doubt," Nicks said.

"The better you go as an individual the more attention the opposition often have (in store for you) next week, and he deserves that attention.

"That then comes back to our forward line - what does it do for someone like Tex (Walker), what does it do for someone like Lachlan Gollant?

"We hope the next player is then able to step up and play their role."

Walker was held goalless in the Showdown, meaning he has just three goals to his name from three games this season.

It's a far cry from last year when he banged through 47 goals from 18 games.

"Tex plays a really important role, it's just not necessarily the dominance he had last year when he was hitting the scoreboard continuously," Nicks said.

"But he's competing for us and he takes the best defender every week. And so he should because if you don't do that he can expose you.

"Our forward line isn't reliant on one player but Tex is important to the mix down there."

Defender Patrick Parnell will miss another game through concussion protocols, while forward Luke Pedlar is out through suspension.

Midfielder Harry Schoenberg is banging down the selection door after tallying 34 disposals and three goals in the SANFL last week, while Nicks has also been impressed with forward Ned McHenry's form.

Fremantle will again be without Nat Fyfe (plantar fasciitis), while defender Heath Chapman is out with a calf injury.

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