The AFL rise and rise of Adelaide Crows ball magnet Matt Crouch
ADELAIDE gave up Bernie Vince to draft Matt Crouch. And as good as Vince has been for his new club, the deal still looks a win for the Crows, with Crouch racking up astounding statistics, says Andrew Capel.
THE jury will always be out on whether Adelaide — bundled out of the finals in the past two years — could have won a premiership if it had retained Bernie Vince instead of shipping him to Melbourne for a draft pick at the end of 2013.
But former Crows coach Brenton Sanderson's unbridled joy at securing Matt Crouch with the Vince pick, No. 23 overall, at the 2013 national draft has been justified.
While Adelaide’s 2009 club champion Vince has been a standout performer for the Demons, winning the club’s best and fairest award in 2015 and playing a key role in its rise up the ladder, Crouch is showing why Sanderson was so happy to trade for him.
Once labelling Crouch “my boy’’ and famously declaring he would “throw a party’’ if the Ballarat product fell into the Crows’ lap (“I really didn’t think he was going to get through that far,’’ Sanderson said after the draft) the now-Collingwood assistant coach’s sky-high opinion of Crouch appears on the money.
Fifteen games into his fourth season on Adelaide’s list, Crouch, 22, ranks second in the AFL for disposals behind ace Hawthorn recruit Tom Mitchell.
And the left-footed midfielder is closing in on inaugural captain Chris McDermott for the highest season’s disposals average in Crows history.
In 1992, McDermott averaged 32.7 disposals a game. This year Crouch is running at 31.9 disposals to rank second.
Only Mitchell, with a remarkable average of 35.7, has won more of the ball in the competition this year.
“His numbers have been unreal,’’ said Adelaide ruckman Sam Jacobs.
“He falls into that category alongside Tom Mitchell and West Coast’s Matt Priddis and Sam Mitchell — the guys who people think just rack up touches — but their importance in winning a clean clearance and dishing the ball out to teammates is just so important to their teams.
“Matt’s playing a really important role for us in that he is able to set up our outside players and he’s just so reliable, playing at a consistent level each week.
“He’s one of the main reasons we’ve had such a strong season and why our contested ball has gone through the roof this year.’’
Crouch’s consistency has been amazing.
In his 15 games this season he has recorded between 27 and 38 disposals, with his lowest tally against Geelong in Round 11 and his highest against Richmond and North Melbourne in rounds six and seven.
The younger brother of fellow Crows on-baller Brad Crouch, Matt’s evolution during his 62 games has been strong and steady. All of his key statistics have been consistently on the rise.
A nice size at 183cm and 82kg, Crouch has increased his disposal count, ranking points, contested and uncontested possessions, metres gained, clearances and score involvements each season since debuting against Sydney in Round 3, 2014.
And they are big numbers, with Champion Data ranking him as elite or above average for a midfielder in all seven categories.
“At the start of the year there were question marks about our midfield and the way we saw it a as a club there would be opportunities for players to step up,’’ Jacobs said.
“Matt has done that and shown he is going to be a very good AFL player for a long time.’’
While Vince, who has played 78 matches with Melbourne after 129 for Adelaide over eight seasons, has been a key player for his new club — he will get the stopping job on Crows star Rory Sloane in Darwin on Saturday night — he is now 31 and in the twilight of his career.
“It was a football decision that was made and is without doubt the right move,’’ Sanderson said at the time of the Vince trade that netted the Crows Crouch.
On this year’s form, it is hard to argue.
THE ACCUMULATOR
Crows ball magnet Matt Crouch's star continues to rise with the 22-year-old midfielder ranked No. 2 in the AFL for disposals and closing in on inaugural Adelaide captain Chris McDermott’s club-record season disposals average of 32.7 set in 1992.
TIME TO CROW
Highest Crows disposals average in a season (1991-2017)
LEADING THE WAY
Most AFL disposals 2017
MR CONSISTENCY
Matt Crouch is a model of consistency, recording between 27 and 38 disposals in his 15 games this season.
ON THE RISE
The younger Crouch has steadily improved his game, raising his output in key categories every season since debuting in 2014.
andrew.capel@news.com.au