Adelaide coach Don Pyke has no qualms about young midfielder Matt Crouch being his fourth captain this AFL season.

The 23-year-old Crouch is set to lead Adelaide on Sunday when they meet Fremantle in Perth.

Crouch is the sole fit member of Adelaide’s four-man leadership group.

Regular captain Taylor Walker (back/glute) and vice-captain Rory Sloane (foot) have been missing for weeks.

And forward Tom Lynch, who had been the stand-in skipper, is expected to ruled out of the Dockers match because of a side strain.

But Pyke says there’s no temptation to hand the captaincy to anyone other than Crouch, a 79-gamer in his first year in Adelaide’s leadership group.

“It’s an opportunity for Matty,” Pyke said.

“He has come into the leadership group this year as a young man we know has got leadership capabilities – and he has already shown that at our footy club.

“Matt is in there for a reason. And we put him in there on the basis that we want to develop his leadership and here’s an opportunity for him to actually do that.”

Crouch, who won All-Australian honours last season, had already shown on-field leadership, he said.

“The first thing about leadership, of course, is to lead through your actions and lead through your performance,” Pyke said.

The Crows will train on Thursday with doubt over halfback Rory Laird, who has a cracked bone in a hand.

“It’s not displaced so it’s not like he has got a clean crack that requires setting … this is just a crack,” Pyke said.

“It is really just a matter of how comfortable he can get, so we will have a look at him and see how that goes.”