Hugh Greenwood and Tom Jonas lift the lid on the unselfish nature of Eddie Betts who plays his 300th game this weekend

Hugh Greenwood says he is desperate to earn a senior recall and play in Eddie Betts’ 300th game this weekend as he and Port Adelaide rival Tom Jonas lift the lid on Adelaide’s mercurial forward.

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Hugh Greenwood says he is desperate to earn a senior recall and play in Eddie Betts’ 300th game this weekend as he and Port Adelaide rival Tom Jonas lift the lid on Adelaide’s mercurial forward.

Greenwood, who has been pushing his case for an AFL game with solid form in the SANFL, has formed a close friendship with Betts since arriving at the club as a basketballer in 2015.

And he has revealed that Betts insists on trying to help debutants kick their first goal in AFL footy.

Hugh Greenwood celebrates his first goal in AFL footy with Eddie Betts who gifted it to him in 2017. Picture: Bradley Kanaris (Getty)

“It was my first game he said ‘I have to be the one who gets you your first goal’,” Greenwood told The Advertiser’s new podcast The Lowdown.

“I was like ‘mate, I just want to win’, and I remember him marking it outside 50m almost on the quarter-time siren and he was looking at me and I was like ‘no, I’m not on’.

“Then he kicked it to me and I kicked the goal.

“And he said the same thing to Gooch (Jordan Gallucci), Eddie had a shot when he could have kicked the goal from the goalsquare and he gave him a little handball to Gooch.

“We went to Fiji together, he invited me to help build the Eddie Betts primary school over there so I’ve had a lot to do with him and his fam and I’m keen to get back in and celebrate it with him.

“He and his family — Anna and the kids — are so welcoming and they really took me under their wing when I first got to the footy club.

“For one of the most popular figures in the game of football to take a Category B rookie on and just chat and help me out as best they can it goes to show how welcoming he is to everyone.

“He’s an absolute superstar, super person so I’m looking forward to celebrating 300 with him the right way.

“What you see is what you get, all the stuff on Instagram where he’s getting around the women’s team, he’s inviting all the boys over, he’s hanging out with his kids — that’s him and I don’t know how he does it because he’s always going above and beyond what he needs to do.”

Greenwood also praised Betts for his influence on Tyson Stengle by helping him out to the point where Stengle is putting pressure on his spot in the forward line.

ALSO IN EPISODE 5 OF THE LOWDOWN

* Tex gets Tiger in the Masters sweep

* Greenwood’s fashion advice for Eddie Betts

* What did Jonas say to Burton and Duursma

* Why he can’t wait to get Broadbent back

Plus pic of the week — our panel’s favourite moments in footy

Reece Homfray’s pic of the week. Listen to the Lowdown Podcast to find out the significance of this 2006 press clipping from the Sunraysia Football League.

Meanwhile, Port Adelaide co-captain Jonas — who also headlines The Lowdown — regularly gets the job on Betts in a Showdown and says he still hasn’t worked out how to stop him.

“He always shakes hands which is a good start, but I still haven’t worked out the best way to play on him,” Jonas said.

“Every now and then we have a chat, probably because he’s already kicked three or four so he’s happy to have a chat, but I definitely don’t get in his ear because you know at any moment he could pop up and do some damage.

“The unique thing about Eddie and why he’s got to 300 games is because he’s so selfless, you see him kick the freakish goals and he’s got incredible skills but it’s the stuff he does for his teammates that you might not see as much on TV.

“Whether it’s coming back to put a little block on for Tex or JJ or just running around to distract someone else, he’s always looking to bring others into the game.

“Even his assists, whenever he gets an opportunity to give someone else a better shot on goal he takes it.”

“I definitely don’t get in his ear because you know at any moment he could pop up and do some damage,” Tom Jonas says of playing on Eddie Betts. Picture: Sarah Reed.

Greenwood had 33 disposals, 10 clearances and two goals in the Crows’ reserves side and is expected to be strongly considered to play Gold Coast on Sunday.

He has spoken about the interesting dynamics of playing at SANFL level where the team wants to win but individuals also want to get a senior call-up.

Greenwood was told he had to change his role from trying to read the ball off the opposition ruckman’s hand — like he does at AFL level — to putting himself in Paul Hunter’s line of sight and winning more of the footy.

“They said look mate selfish might not be the right word but you’ve got to put yourself in better positions to get the ball so I put myself in the hit-to spot, the target a bit more, and thankfully it paid off,” Greenwood said.

“But it’s tough playing at that level because you look across and you want to win but you’ve obviously got bigger aspirations, it’s a hard dynamic. But we’ve won two games which is one more than last year so the vibe’s good.”

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