Johncock is the Crows' fall guy

Adelaide Crows veteran Graham Johncock at training. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: The Advertiser

GRAHAM Johncock is taking his second dumping in three weeks from the Adelaide line-up as a challenge rather than a sign his time in the AFL is up.

Crows favourite Johncock last night joined 2009 club champion Bernie Vince as the high-profile Crow to pay the price in an underperforming team while coach Brenton Sanderson called up youth for tomorrow's clash with the Western Bulldogs at AAMI Stadium.

Former St Kilda forward Tom Lynch, hard-edged midfielder Sam Kerridge and elevated rookie Rory Laird join the Adelaide 22 replacing Johncock, Vince and injured captain Nathan van Berlo (knee) in the 22 who went down by nine points to Port Adelaide in Showdown XXXIV on Sunday.

But it is Johncock's dumping - turning him into the new yoyo in the Adelaide attack - that overrides all anticipation of how Sanderson will seek to use youth to inject new endeavour in his faltering team.

Crows football operations chief Phil Harper last night noted some veterans - Johncock is 30 and has played 227 AFL games - would take repeated axings as a sign to reconsider their place in the game.

"Some would say, 'That's enough' and pull the pin," said Harper.

"But Graham will fight for his position. He will play his heart out for the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL and make sure he finishes his career on a good note."

But Johncock, who kicked seven goals for the Magpies after he was dropped from the Crows a fortnight ago, cannot play in the SANFL league competition this weekend because Port has the bye. And Adelaide is holding Johncock as the emergency for tomorrow's game, meaning he will have no form to thrust before the Crows' selectors for next week's game against Carlton at the MCG.

There will be debate about Adelaide bringing on the end of Johncock's career by converting him from a defender to a forward. Harper last night declared the Crows had moved on from Johncock as a defender. "We have young guys in defence - Brodie Smith, Luke Brown and now Rory Laird - and an eye on the future," Harper said.

Adelaide will push that agenda of believing in youth ahead of defence with Kerridge and Lynch.

Kerridge has been guaranteed a start to ensure his second AFL game will not be as heartbreaking as his first. He was the travelling emergency who became the substitute a year ago when Adelaide was belted by Hawthorn at the MCG in round three last year.

He will take up van Berlo's role as a shadowing midfielder.

Lynch will play his first AFL game since Adelaide's last home-and-away game last season. He has been in impressive form as a forward with SANFL club Glenelg but Sanderson is tempted to play him around the midfield as well.

Laird, a small defender, was elevated from the rookie list on Thursday, filling the gap created by young defender Sam Shaw being on the long-term injury list with a serious hamstring injury.

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