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Adelaide Crows coach says captain Jordan Dawson will determine timeline for return following brother's death

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Adelaide Crows Stand with Captain After Family Loss

Adelaide Crows captain Jordan Dawson was absent from his team's one-point victory over St Kilda on Saturday night following the death of his older brother, Jaryd, last week. Dawson was present at Adelaide Oval, watching the emotional match from the grandstand.

A Tribute from the Stands

The crowd of 45,854 at Adelaide Oval paid a moving tribute to the absent captain. At the 12-minute mark of the first quarter—a reference to Dawson's jersey number—the entire stadium stood in a show of support.

In Dawson's absence, former captain Taylor Walker led the team, scoring five goals including the match-winner. Coach Matthew Nicks said Walker's performance carried deep significance.

"Tex is an emotional guy and he's doing whatever he could to sort of make Jordan proud," Nicks stated.

Club Puts Family First

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks confirmed the club will not set a timeline for Dawson's return to the field, emphasizing a people-first approach.

"We just get around him and the family and we will work with him on what's the right timing, there's no rush in that," Nicks said. "This is people first. Family is always number one, way before football, so we'll just work through it."

Nicks described the week leading into the match as "emotional" and called the narrow win "a great result" for the club and its grieving captain.