"He's been fantastic" - Adelaide Crows coach heaps praise on 21-year-old amidst growing selection concerns 

Adelaide Crows coach Matthew Nicks praised Josh Rachele while reacting to the player's comment about confronting him on his place in the team. Following Adelaide's loss to Hawthorn in Round 12, Rachele had raised concerns about his lack of time in his primary midfield position.

The 21-year-old was deployed in a more advanced role against the Hawks, which saw him record no goals and just 11 possessions. Rachele was not pleased with the coach's decision to play him up the ground and said that he would confront the coach about the situation.

Speaking to 9News Adelaide after the Hawthorn loss, Rachele had said (via nine.com.au):

"We didn't get a lot of inside-50s on the weekend, and I didn't play a lot (in the) midfield again, playing mainly up the ground. "It's something that I probably don't really know what's going on."

"I'll sit with the coaches and ask questions about 'how can I inject myself in the game?' when I'm not getting too much of the ball."

Meanwhile, coach Nick recently said that he and the midfielder had a good chat about the situation and that both parties are now on the same page.

"Josh and I had a really good chat this week. Off the back of poor performance, sometimes, as a team, what can happen is some frustration, and we've worked our way through that."

When questioned about how Rachele took the conversation, The Adelaide Crows coach praised his player, admitting that he has been fantastic.

"He's been fantastic. He's been really fantastic," the coach said.

Despite the selection concerns, Rachele has been key in the coach's setup this term, featuring in all games and recording 14 goals, nine behinds and 187 disposals.

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Adelaide Crows will look to bounce back from last week's loss to Richmond Tigers

The Adelaide Crows will look to bounce back from last week's loss to the Hawthorn Hawks when they face the Richmond Tigers in the opening game of Round 13 on Thursday, June 6, at the Adelaide Oval.

The Crows will fancy their chances against the Tigers, who are struggling with eight consecutive losses and only one win this season. Adelaide themselves have been inconsistent, with a 4-1-7 record, but will be the favourites in the clash.

That's because Richmond (who have won three of their last five meetings) will be without key players like Dustin Martin, Marlion Pickett and Mykelti Lefau due to injury.

Adelaide Crows are 14th in the AFL table with 18 points, while Richmond Tigers are 17th with four points after 12 rounds of games.