3 minute read
Taylor Adams will wear a glove to assist his return to AFL action for Collingwood when the Magpies take on West Coast on Saturday night.
Taylor Adams will play his first match since the AFL grand final on Saturday night, taking to the MCG against the side that denied Collingwood last year's premiership.
West Coast return to Melbourne for the first time since winning their fourth flag, with both teams in transition after their epic September battle.
The Magpies have Darcy Moore and Jamie Elliot fit again and have added premiership-winners Dayne Beams and Jordan Roughead.
The Eagles are building towards full fitness, with Jamie Cripps returning to action for the first time in 2019 - along with suspended midfielder Andrew Gaff.
Thanks to a protective glove, Collingwood can also count on Adams, who replaces the omitted Travis Varcoe.
The 25-year-old was the Magpies' best on grand final day, finishing second in the Norm Smith Medal voting to Luke Shuey.
He underwent surgery in early March to correct a "consistently displacing" finger, missing the club's pre-season and opening fortnight.
Thankfully for coach Nathan Buckley, the issue hasn't stopped Adams keeping up his fitness as he waited for his finger to heal.
"He's a leader of the football club and one of our best performers over a number of years. He got through (training) and he'll play," Buckley said.
"He got the all-clear from the surgeon ... he's as running-fit as he's been.
"He's trained with the glove the last couple of sessions and we'll use that as a form of support.
"The glove will be worn and focused on, I'm sure, but his mind is really clear about playing the game and attacking it as per normal."
He will be joined by Mason Cox in the Magpies' 22 after the tall Texan beat a rough conduct suspension at the tribunal on Tuesday, saving Buckley from making an unwanted change.
"Our personnel shifts are not insignificant. We're still discovering how that's going to settle for us (to play) our best footy," Buckley said.
The changes and the passage of time have helped the Magpies move on from the heartbreaking grand final loss last September, though Buckley admitted it took some doing.
"We're not robots. The team, the club, are made of very human strengths and frailties and realities, but we can't dwell on anything that we're not in control of any more and I think we've got really good at that," he said.
"We're an 'in the moment' club. We're an 'in the moment' team and we want to bring all that positive emotion that we carry day-to-day for each other."
