Injuries forced Adelaide defender Richard Tambling and Geelong small forward Mathew Stokes out of two of the weekend's biggest AFL matches.

Tambling added to the Crows' injury woes when he hurt his ankle at Thursday training ahead of the Saturday night Showdown against Port Adelaide.

The Crows ruled him out on Friday and brought in rookie-listed player Matthew Wright for his senior debut.

Team-mate Taylor Walker (back) and Port Adelaide's Robbie Gray (leg) also face fitness tests on Saturday morning.

The Cats' Twitter feed reported neck soreness forced Stokes out of the Saturday night SCG clash against Sydney.

First-year player Allen Christensen, originally dropped for the game, will take Stokes' place.

Meanwhile, Melbourne midfielder Brent Moloney will retain his senior berth after a nightmare week.

The Demons named an unchanged side for Sunday's `Gabba game against Gold Coast.

Moloney lost the vice captaincy after he was asked to leave a St Kilda nightclub early on Monday morning because he was too drunk.

The Suns promoted Matt Shaw and Luke Russell for their AFL debuts, while veteran ruckman Josh Fraser and Josh Toy will return to the side.

They lost vice captain Campbell Brown to suspension and dropped Nathan Krakouer, Alik Magin and Harley Bennell.

North Melbourne are unchanged for Sunday's away game against Fremantle, who will welcome back Garrick Ibbotson and Jay Van Berlo.

The Dockers dropped Michael Walters and Nick Lower.

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