Crows not rolling the dice with Rachele return: coach

"It won't be rolling the dice ... he's ready to go," Nicks told reporters on Thursday.

"Ten weeks of hard work and he should get the reward for that - we do, because he's ready.

"He has trained really well, (after) the main session pulled up really well. He's feeling confident, that's the main point."

Nicks wouldn't divulge whether the dynamic forward would start or be substitute against the Hawks in Friday night's sudden-death clash at Adelaide Oval.

But he said the 22-year-old's fizz would be welcomed by teammates.

"One-hundred per cent you have got to temper expectations when it comes to this week," he said.

"Max (Michalanney) came back last week (from a hamstring injury) and was a little bit off with his touch.

"And it's interesting, sitting down with him straight after the game, and he's feeling: 'Wow, I needed that run'.

"That was six weeks (out), Josh has had 10 weeks out.

"It won't be perfect. And if it is, we'll just slap high fives and enjoy it, but it's going to be a huge challenge for him.

"We don't want him to lose confidence.

"He's one of those guys that just loves playing with belief and confidence, and whether that's within his own head or whether that's teammates giving it to him, we're not going to sap him of that.

"We want to keep that and bring that as much as he can, but Josh, he understands reality."

Rachele replaced axed defender Hugh Bond from the Adelaide side downed by 24 points by Collingwood in a qualifying final.

The Hawks, who downed GWS by 19 points in an away elimination final, summoned Mitch Lewis to cover the absence of fellow tall forward Calsher Dear (hamstring).

The Crows, if defeated, will become the first VFL/AFL minor premiers since 1983 to exit the finals in so-called straight sets.

"Everyone knows how tight the competition was this year," Nicks said.

"We did a fantastic job at the latter part of this season to just find a way to win.

"And, in the end, the difference between one and a half wins knocks you up into that top spot.

"We understand the reality ... every team that made the finals and even a team that missed, on their day, can all knock each other off."