The week off between Round 23 and the Elimination Final will be a big help for Shaun Higgins.
Coming off his return from injury against the Giants, the 28-year-old explained why he’ll take full advantage of a weekend with no matches.
“It’s good for me to be honest, and I’m probably the only person that thinks that,” Higgins told RSN 927.
“I know everyone’s really keen to get stuck into finals.
“For me to have that first game back, and it’s important to have a couple of weeks off to make sure I can top up with a little bit more running and get recovered really well to launch into finals.”
Higgins missed 15 weeks due to a meniscus injury, but said he was always confident his body would hold up on return.
“Structurally it’s (his knee) fine, it’s all sewn up and healed (after surgery), I gave it the time to knit back together.”
Higgins was straight into his normal rotations against the Giants; 86 per cent game time in line with his first seven appearances of the season.
Finishing with 14 disposals and six marks, ‘better for the run’ was the way he summed up the night.
“Early on I was blowing a little bit, but I settled in feeling ok. We did a lot of work with the conditioning team, we were able to get some quality work in,” Higgins said.
“It was important for me to get a game in. I got through OK, was a little bit rusty but a couple of weeks of training now and (I’m) look forward to preparing for the first final.
“The body was a little bit sore waking up Sunday morning, that old feeling which I’d probably missed for a couple of months.
“Training this week will help me get over that and give it another two weeks to strengthen up.”
The players enjoyed a couple of days off through the middle of the week, before reconvening at Arden Street on Thursday morning.
It’s now all systems go towards Adelaide next Saturday night.
“We’re in at the club today and then a big day on Friday before preparing next week,” Higgins explained.
“We’re probably lucky we’ve got the full next week, playing on Saturday night and we’ll travel on Friday.”
The fitness of Jarrad Waite and Scott Thompson is a major talking point. Waite has missed the last month with a hip issue, while Thompson was a non-starter against the Giants.
However, Higgins is confident the duo will be available for selection against the Crows.
“Waitey’s had a really good couple of weeks after minor hip surgery. He bounced back and if you looked at him, you’d think he’d be ready to go,” he added.
“It’s a couple of things he’ll need to tick off, but I saw him yesterday and he’s pretty confident.
“(Thompson’s) really similar to Waitey, the extra week has been great in regards to those two so we’re hopeful that he’ll get up.”
