Senior Coach Craig McRae has addressed the media ahead of Thursday night’s blockbuster clash against traditional rivals Carlton.

McRae touched on some decisions at the selection table, Nick Daicos’ 100 game milestone and updated on some injured players.

Sidebottom ruled out

“He’s actually got a knock on the hip pointer, so he won’t play,” McRae said.

“We’ve got a six-day break and there’s actually quite a lot of bleeding there, so he won’t play.

"You might’ve saw it just before half time (in Round 5) he got a knock in the back and he’s limited in movement so he’s not going to be right.”

Nick Daicos’ 100th game

“In terms of what he’s been able to do for us, I started the same time as him and I’m very grateful for him to be a part of our footy Club at the same time,” he said.

“He’s just made such a difference to us and his growth as an individual and as a leader and as a player has taken us on an incredible journey the last four years.

“He does things that I don’t think I’ve seen others do.

“He’s destined to be a leader of this footy Club, it’s just a matter of when.

“I think there’s always an evolution of everyone, we’re all evolving and playing different roles and all of those sort of things.”

An update on Bobby Hill

“Bobby’s on a plan, he’s on a pre-season mode that we’ve got the eye on long-term,” he said.

“You watch him train today and he looks lively and exciting and the agility is back, but we’ll just stick to the plan.

“It’s exciting to just see him improve session by session.”

A potential move forward for Jeremy Howe

“He trained forward today and I’m open-minded to all sorts of things,” he said.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what that looks like, we might not have enough troops down back to support that.

“But we might train him there over the next few weeks if we need to throw him forward or when Darcy’s (Moore) back he might play a bit more permanently, we’ll wait and see.

“I want to continue to evolve and look at all of the options we’ve got."

Jordan De Goey’s concussion

“Jordy’s got the concussion (but) it is pleasing that he’s back feeling good,” he said.

“(He’s) on track to play against the Bombers in whatever timeline that is.”

Reef McInnes’ return to full fitness

“He’s going to play a full game this week (in the VFL),” he said.

“He’s been building his loads and he’s going to play a full game, so we’re excited for that.

“He’s obviously finding his feet because he’s been out for so long but he’s an important player for us because he can play both ends of the field.”