Butcher joins Jared Polec and Brad Ebert, recovered from a bruised lung sustained against the Hawks a fortnight ago, as inclusions named on the field for Sunday’s twilight crunch match against GWS at Adelaide Oval.

Nathan Krakouer has been named on an extended bench, with Dixon the only confirmed omission thus far.

It is an eerie case of history repeating for Butcher, with the fringe forward – whose kicking has long been the subject of scrutiny – recalled to the senior side at a similar stage of last season to pinch-hit for the injured Jay Schulz, eventually playing out the season to be granted a one-year contract extension.

It was, in effect, an insurance policy for a club uncertain of Schulz’s future, putting its forward-line faith in the traditionally injury-prone Gold Coast recruit Dixon and facing the possibility – which became an eventuality – of big-man Paddy Ryder spending time on the sidelines as a legacy of his Essendon playing days.

For its own crunch match against Geelong at Simonds Stadium, the Crows have sacrificed speed in favour of bolstering its defence, with key backmen Rory Laird and Luke Brown returning from injury at the expense of wingmen David Mackay and Paul Seedsman.

In what looms as a top-four shaping contest, the Cats welcome back Brownlow medallist Jimmy Bartel for his 299^th career game – having been rested last week against Fremantle – as well as young defender Jed Bews. The pair come in for concussion-affected utility Lachie Henderson and the omitted Jordan Murdoch.

Meanwhile, Sydney premiership hero Ted Richards has been dumped for the Swans’ clash against Carlton among four changes made by coach John Longmire.

Richards, a 33-year-old veteran of 261 games, made his name as a lockdown key defender for the Swans but has looked mostly out of sorts playing as lead-up forward in the past fortnight against Geelong and Hawthorn.

Hard-nosed midfielder Ben McGlynn was also omitted, while co-captain Jarrad McVeigh (groin) and Zac Jones (ankle) could not be considered.

Into the lineup on Saturday night for fifth-placed Sydney came Richards’ younger brother Xavier, Isaac Heeney, Harry Cunningham and first gamer Jordan Foote.

Carlton brought in strong-marking forward Levi Casboult and Blaine Boekhorst for omitted duo Jed Lamb and Kristian Jaksch.

Slumping North Melbourne suffered a huge blow ahead of tonight’s must-win clash against Collingwood at Etihad Stadium with key forward Jarrad Waite ruled out with an ongoing hip problem.

The Kangaroos have plummeted from first spot to eighth after dropping six of their past seven matches.

Corey Wagner was dropped, with Majak Daw and Trent Dumont coming into the lineup.

Collingwood made two unforced changes with omitted duo Brent Macaffer and Jordan de Goey making way for leading goalkicker Alex Fasolo and backman Marley Williams.

The third-placed Western Bulldogs lost one of their biggest stars and regained another, with 2014 best and fairest winner Tom Liberatore coming in and star forward Jake Stringer (shoulder) going out for the game against St Kilda.

Fremantle lost more than 600 games of experience for Saturday’s trip to Metricon Stadium to take on Gold Coast.

The Dockers chose to rest former skipper Matthew Pavlich – who will bring up the 350-game milestone at home next week – while Hayden Ballantyne (facial fracture) and midfielder Michael Barlow (shoulder) will miss due to injury.

That’s opened the door for the inclusion of debutant Shane Yarran, with the match marking his transition from jailbird to AFL footballer.

Yarran’s dreams of competing at the elite level appeared in tatters when he was sentenced to six years jail for burglary charges earlier in his career.

But he has completed a remarkable rise since being released from prison in March 2013.

Two standout seasons for WAFL club Subiaco revived Yarran’s AFL hopes, and the Dockers took a punt by selecting him with pick No.61 in the 2015 national draft.

But it has been far from smooth sailing for Yarran since arriving at the Dockers.

Knee and calf injuries grounded the 185cm forward for the first half of the season, and he went into the bad books last month when he was charged with disorderly behaviour and failing to obey police orders during a night out in Leederville.

Yarran copped an $800 fine after pleading guilty to those charges, but coach Ross Lyon says the 27-year-old has since won back the trust of everyone at the club.

“There’s deposits and withdrawals, isn’t there? Obviously it was a slight withdrawal. Clearly it wasn’t ideal,” Lyon said of Yarran’s recent misbehaviour.

“We always support the person and challenge the behaviour. We believe he’s a good person who’s had some challenges.

“He’s building his life and is trying to redeem himself.”

Yarran is a ready-made player for the Dockers after winning the Bernie Naylor medal as the WAFL’s leading goalkicker last season.

But Lyon said it was unfair to expect Yarran to star in AFL ranks from the get-go.

“No one comes in and tears AFL footy apart – it’s very rare,” Lyon said.

“But he’s an incredibly hard trainer and he’s held himself together really well (after) starting on the back foot.

“He’s come through the door as a higher-end athlete than we thought.

“He’s put on four or five kilos here, and he’s an extreme speed and endurance sort of athlete.”

-AAP