AFL 2021: Matthew Nicks on contracts for injured Crows Matt Crouch, Daniel Talia and Tom Lynch

Injured Crows Matt Crouch, Daniel Talia and Tom Lynch are still without contracts for 2022. Do they need to get back on the park to earn one? Matthew Nicks has his say.

Darcy Byrne-Jones was Port Adelaide’s 2020 John Cahill medallist. Picture: Brenton Edwards

When, and indeed, whether injured trio Daniel Talia, Matt Crouch and Tom Lynch will return to action for Adelaide will be “factored’ into their contract negotiations, Crows senior coach Matthew Nicks says.

The out of contract trio have played just six games between them, all by Lynch, as Crouch and Talia struggle with groin and foot issues respectively.

Lynch, who had to have surgery on his toe, is pushing for a return shortly while Crouch has started running but is still listed as six weeks away and Talia’s time frame for a comeback is still unknown.

With Taylor Walker expected to soon sign a new one-year deal the future of the three established players looms as the Crows biggest burning issues going forward.

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Daniel Talia’s return date is still unknown. Picture: Tom Huntley

Tom Lynch is hoping to be back in the Crows side soon. Picture: Mark Brake

Nicks said some of this will depend on when, and if, they can play footy this year.

“I am not going to come out and say they have to play football (this season) for them to be at this footy club going forward, that’s not the case,” Nicks said.

“(But) there’s a little bit in the fact that we would like to see these guys back playing football before we come to an agreement with those players.

“But it is factored into the conversation at this point.”

This more concerns Talia, 29, and Lynch, 30, than Crouch, 26.

“(Crouch is a) slightly different position to the older two, and that one again more sits on the negotiation side when we talk terms,” he said.

On Friday, Crows assistant coach Nathan van Berlo said Talia’s body just wasn’t holding up, with his foot causing him pain.

Nicks said he was hopeful Talia, a Club Champion and two-time All-Australian, would play some footy this year.

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Will Matt Crouch be at the Crows next year? Picture: Kelly Barnes

“At the moment it is quite tough for Tals, he’s had some small setbacks,” he said.

“It’s a really tough spot to be in.

“For Daniel it has been a tough ride, he is sticking tight with the group, he is staying among the group and he is just having some small setbacks which is making it hard for him

“But I’m pretty confident, we still have half a season to go that he will find that and he will get his body right

“Before the latest setback we had him come out and join us for one of the main sessions a month and a half ago and he just destroyed it.

“He played some really good footy in a training session, we know the good footy he can play on field which hopefully you can see before the season is out.”

Nicks explains: Why prized recruit is stuck in SANFL

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks says Jackson Hately’s chance will come, despite the young midfielder only managing two games since his move from GWS.

The Central District product was taken by the Giants with pick 14 in the highly-rated 2018 draft but after two-years of failing to get a consistent chance at GWS he made the move back to Adelaide.

But despite one of his main competitors for a midfield spot in Matt Crouch not featuring at all this season through injury Hately has only managed two games for the Crows — Round 6 against Hawthorn and Round 7 against GWS.

The 20-year-old was named as an emergency for the Crows’ Sunday game against Carlton but will play against West Adelaide in the SANFL on Saturday.

Jackson Hately has only managed two games in his first year with the Crows.

Nicks said Hately was knocking on the door.

“The guys are in that midfield at the moment, which is Jacko’s weapon in and around the footy, Lairdy (Rory Laird) is playing some pretty good footy, (Rory) Sloane has come back in there, (Harry) Schoenberg we are really liking what he is doing pinch-hitting in there for the team and (Ben) Keays has taken his game to another level,” he said.

“So for Jacko it’s not necessarily about doing anything different, it is just getting that consistency in performance and keep knocking on the door.

“And he is doing that, it has been a couple of weeks in a row where he has played well in the SANFL and the messaging to him has just been that just continue to consistently perform and the chance will come.

“It is great to have that pressure from below.”

With Paul Seedsman (neck) and Brodie Smith (back) expected to play against the under-pressure Blues, Adelaide is set to make two changes to the side that claimed a thrilling win against St Kilda.

Luke Brown comes in after two games out with an Achilles injury, while dual Lachie Sholl returns after a stint as the medical sub.

“Sholly started the year so well, was a standout for us in the pre-season and maybe the season was starting to take its toll a little bit he started to look like he was grinding there prior to the rest,” he said.

“It’s not really a kick in the butt, it is not all about form for Sholly and sometimes when we are talking about form for Sholly it is the way he is moving around the ground and that is where that grind can come into it.

“Especially with a younger player, what you can see is that it is a long season and you play more years you see someone like Rory Sloane and he becomes hardened and can get through a 22-round season.

“A lot of these guys who are in their first second and third years it can be quite tiring so there is a management part of that.”

Josh Worrell returns to the SANFL after making his AFL debut against the Saints.

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At the very least, Ollie Wines should break through for his first-ever John Cahill Medal come the end of the year.

While Rory Laird would be hot favourite for a second Malcolm Blight Medal, Taylor Walker could also make a serious tilt for his first-ever gong.

As both South Australian clubs prepare for the second half of the AFL season, following their mid-season byes, while there is a lot of footy to play, Adelaide and Port Adelaide’s best and fairest race right now shouldn’t throw up too many surprises.

Fresh off the back of a career best 44-disposal outing against Gold Coast, just one shy of Peter Burgoyne’s club record for the Power, it is hard to see any other Port Adelaide player who could be close to Wines for the award honouring the legendary player and coach.

Wines has been a runner-up in the John Cahill Medal count – decided with votes from senior coach Ken Hinkley, senior assistant Michael Voss, respective line coaches and general manager of football Chris Davies with each player’s performance rated between 0-5 – on two occasions.

But in the midst of a career-best season, Wines is set to claim his first best and fairest for Port should he continue his stunning form.

And that may not be where Wines stops in terms of individual honours.

He is in third place in the Coaches Association player of the year award, with three games in which he has received maximum votes from the two senior coaches.

And Wines is starting to increasingly be spoken about as a potential Brownlow Medal chance.

His challengers should come in the form of Aliir Aliir, who has made a fine start to his career at Alberton; Karl Amon, who has had a career-best season; while Travis Boak and Tom Jonas should never be discounted.

Over at West Lakes, Laird would be the frontrunner to add to his 2018 club champion award.

After being shifted into the midfield by Matthew Nicks mid-season in 2020, Laird finished the year on fire and was just one point behind Malcolm Blight Medal winner Reilly O’Brien in the end.

The dual All-Australian has continued his red-hot form in 2021, averaging 31 possessions a game.

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This consistency should be enough for Laird to claim the award, which had a new voting system last year with Nicks and three line coaches collectively grading each players performance on a 0-10 scale following each round.

But the re-born Walker could put up a fight with some outstanding performances in 2021.

Ben Keays should also be in the mix, with the former Brisbane player averaging 28 disposals and six tackles a game.