Logan Austin has been named at full-back for the Power, replacing the injured Jack Hombsch. Veteran defender Alipate Carlile has been included on an extended bench, but appears unliekly to make the final selection cut tonight.

Austin’s first game is a low-key response to Collingwood’s inclusion of disgruntled veteran Travis Cloke, who comes in to a Magpies side decimated with injuries.

“We are not going to be uncomfortable putting him on any one of their three talls,” Power coach Ken Hinkley told reporters today.

Hinkley described 20-year-old Austin as a “physical big defender with a beautiful kick” who deserved his selection through strong state league form.

“He has been ready for a while, to be honest. It has been a challenge for us to keep him at bay,” Hinkley said.

“The opportunity was presented through injury but it’s certainly well earned.”

Speculation over Cloke’s likely inclusion reached fever-pitch this week, with Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley revealing even the Victorian constabulary wanted answers.

“(Assistant coach) Tarkyn Lockyer was driving into training today and he was pulled over – I don’t know why, I think he was going too slow,” Buckley recounted yesterday.

“The policeman saw him in his Collingwood outfit and he goes ‘so is Clokey playing this week?’ True story.

“So he’s the only bloke who doesn’t know. In the world.”

Cloke has been out of the senior side since he was dropped for Anzac Day, but Collingwood’s plague of injuries shortened the odds dramatically that he would return for Sunday’s game.

Darcy Moore, Alex Fasolo and Taylor Adams were all hurt during last weekend’s loss to the Western Bulldogs.

“We have a big challenge against an opponent that has some specific strengths,” Buckley said.

“We’ve really enjoyed our balance over the last three weeks and we’ll want to go with a similar-balanced side.

“So we won’t be changing roles too much.

“We’re looking for like-for-like replacements for the guys who’ve been injured.”

Buckley would not buy into media talk that Cloke might seek a trade at the end of the season if he struggles to cement a senior berth.

“I’ve made a point over the last probably eight weeks, not to read the papers as much as I might have otherwise,” he said.

“There’s a lot of opinion, a lot of speculation and really that takes place outside of our reality.

“It’s not something I’ve spent five seconds (on).”

The one good piece of injury news for the Magpies is that defender Alan Toovey trained yesterday and should play against the Power.

Toovey suffered concussion in the Bulldogs loss, with Collingwood still unable to work out what caused his injury.

Buckley said they think it was a delayed concussion.

“Toovs is pretty good – he’ll get through and he’ll be right,” he said.

“So we had three injuries and then it’s up to whether we think there are any form decisions that we need to make.”

Rebounding defender Rory Laird seems the likely inclusion for the Crows ahead of Sunday’s home clash with St Kilda, potentially ousting former captain Nathan van Berlo after a fortnight back in the senior team.

Laird and midfielders Matt Crouch and David Mackay – all returning from injury – have been named on an extended bench that will be culled today, but there are few obvious candidates for omission from the Adelaide side that knocked off league pacesetters GWS last week.

Meanwhile, North Melbourne coach Brad Scott has been hospitalised with a viral illness, forcing him to miss tonight’s match against Richmond in Hobart.

Assistant coach Darren Crocker will be the stand-in head coach for the game at Bellerive Oval after Scott fell ill on his way to Melbourne Airport yesterday.

“His condition worsened in the evening and he was attended to by the club doctor before being admitted to hospital for treatment and observation,” the ladder-leading club’s director of football Geoff Walsh said in a brief statement.

-with AAP