As many as eight new faces could line up for Adelaide in the NAB Challenge game against Port Adelaide at Richmond Oval on Sunday.

Recruits Eddie Betts and James Podsiadly, highly-rated draftee Matt Crouch, untried players Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Rory Atkins, and Angus Graham, and rookies Charlie Cameron and Alex Spina have all been included in a 29-man squad to tackle the Power. The team will be trimmed to 26 on Sunday.

Betts, Podsiadly and Matt Crouch are confirmed starters in Adelaide’s NAB Challenge opener. Coach Brenton Sanderson said it would be exciting to see the trio in action for the first time.

“Eddie and ‘Pods’ have been fantastic since joining our Club in October,” Sanderson said.

“They’ve been exceptional on the training track and will add an exciting new dimension to our forward line this year. They have enormous experience and are already leaders in their own right.

“It will also be exciting for our 19th Man to see Matt Crouch play. Matt’s been really impressive in his first AFL pre-season, especially in our match simulation. He just knows how to find the footy.”

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Ellis-Yolmen and Graham will be hoping to play their first games for the Club since last pre-season, while second-year midfielder Atkins and skilful forwards Cameron and Spina will be looking for their first official game in Crows colours.

Established players Scott Thompson, Ben Rutten, Andy Otten, Jared Petrenko, Ricky Henderson and Rory Laird will sit out the match against Port Adelaide, but will play against Carlton in Adelaide’s second NAB Challenge hit-out against Carlton on Monday, February 24.

“We’ll carefully manage the workload of all our players throughout the NAB Challenge,” Sanderson said.

“It’ll depend on the individual as to how much game time a player is exposed to in the lead up to Round One. Some guys like ‘Thommo’ and ‘Truck’ might only need one game, or a game-and-a-half, while other players like to have a few more minutes under their belts.”

NAB Rising Star runner-up Brad Crouch will also miss this week as he continues to build towards full fitness. Crouch was on a modified program pre-Christmas because of an Achilles complaint. Brent Reilly (shoulder), Tom Lynch (foot), Taylor Walker (knee) and Nathan van Berlo (Achilles) were unavailable for selection through injury.

Sunday’s game will start at 4:10pm and consist of four, 20-minute quarters (plus time on). Read more about the NAB Challenge format, including rules and ticketing.

The squad of 29 is (click on a name to view player profile):

1. James Podsiadly

4. Josh Jenkins

6. Luke Thompson

8. Lewis Johnston

9. Rory Sloane (c)

10. Matthew Jaensch

11. Matthew Wright

12. Daniel Talia

14. David Mackay

15. Angus Graham

16. Luke Brown

17. Sam Kerridge

18. Eddie Betts

21. Rory Atkins

24. Sam Jacobs

26. Richard Douglas

28. Cam Ellis-Yolmen

31. Jarryd Lyons

32. Patrick Dangerfield (c)

33. Brodie Smith

34. Sam Shaw

35. Shaun McKernan

36. Brodie Martin

38. Mitch Grigg

40. Jason Porplyzia

41. Kyle Hartigan

42. Charlie Cameron

44. Matt Crouch

46. Alex Spina