It was a new day in the countdown to the grand final on Monday, but Adelaide midfielder Rory Sloane found himself confronting the same two most asked questions and delivered the same answers as his teammates before him.
"Mitch McGovern will be given every chance," he said in regard to the hamstring strain that kept McGovern out of the first preliminary final
Sloane said the forward would need to prove his fitness in this week's main training session.
The feeling around the club is that McGovern will play, and is not overly troubled by the slightest of hamstring strains. He has been running well, but obviously he needs to do everything well at training on Wednesday.
"There is not too much extra treatment that we can do," Sloane said. "He is just going to have to prove himself. We will give him every chance..."
Sloane also reiterated the obvious: that Richmond is not a one-star band with Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin.
"Like 'Danger' (Patrick Dangerfield), it's not the Dusty Show and the reason why Richmond got into a grand final," Sloane said. "Their midfield goes really deep. There are a lot of stars in there and guys who have played unbelievable years.
"They all chip in and play their role. Dusty is just the same as everyone there. It is going to come down us having everyone playing their role."
Even when pressed about combating the now famous "don't argue" fend-offs, Sloane insisted the grand final would be about team performances.
"There are a couple of techniques people may have their ideas on, but tackling is a lot about intent and aggression to get at blokes," Sloane said.
"Again, there are 21 other guys out there that we have to focus on. Yeah, he's a big part of that team and we certainly want to take him down and try and make sure we stick those tackles when we can.
"Guys have tried to ruffle Dusty throughout the year. He's proven he can just play on, and he can play multiple positions, which probably helps him as well.
"But there are a lot of other parts of football to focus on that we need to get right to beat Richmond.
"Their pressure throughout the midfield has been elite all year, and that's the reason why we've played so well in finals also."
Sloane said the Crows had done a lot of work on and off the field and had prepared well for this occasion even though, like Richmond, none of the players had played in an AFL grand final.
"This has been our goal ever since Pykey (coach Don Pyke) came in," Sloane said. We have done a lot of work on the mental side of the game and to make sure our heads are right this week. I certainly think this group is ready."
