Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson will miss Friday night's grudge game against Port Adelaide after his brother's funeral.

Dawson and Crows staff and players attended a service for Jaryd Dawson in Robe in South Australia's south-east on Wednesday.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks says Dawson is going "as well as he can be" but won't play against arch-rivals Port.

"It's a big week for the family," Nicks told reporters on Thursday.

"And the community of Robe yesterday was a really special day ... the entire community came together and just bonded and they were there for the family.

"It was an emotional day but it was a really important one and hopefully for Jordan and his family it allows them then to work on what is next."

The Adelaide skipper missed a one-point win over St Kilda before playing in a 52-point loss to Brisbane.

"We will just give him whatever time he needs," Nicks said.

"I'm pretty sure that what the footy environment provides is a way for him to really put his mind into footy.

"You saw it last week, this incredible effort, the performance he put out there on the field, led from the front, so I'm pretty sure he'd be keen to get back in there as soon as he can."

Nicks, ahead of teams being released on Thursday night, was tightlipped about selection as young gun Dan Curtin presses for his first AFL game since a dislocated kneecap last January.

"We feel like he has (done enough), nowadays it's the amount of work that goes into rehabbing a player," he said.

"Dan has done a lot of work ... you don't want to jump too early and there's no rush for Dan.

"I don't want to give too much away at the moment because he's quite an important player for us."