Riley Thilthorpe prepares to shave beard for charity, weighs in on Crows’ forward mix

With Taylor Walker poised to play on in 2025, Adelaide’s forward line is shaping up to be one of the AFL’s most potent. Riley Thilthorpe gives MATT TURNER his take on the Crows attack — and a cause close to his heart.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUG 11: Riley Thilthorpe of the Crows celebrates a goal during the 2024 AFL Round 22 match between the Adelaide Crows and the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval on August 11, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Adelaide forward Riley Thilthorpe will shave off the beard that has become something of a personal good-luck charm to raise money for a cause close to his heart.

Thilthorpe grew his facial hair while sidelined for four months with a torn meniscus in his knee and changed plans to remove it after he kicked two goals in his AFL return last month.

The 22-year-old has followed that comeback performance with at least two majors in every game for a tally of 11.2 from his five matches.

Thilthorpe told this masthead growing the beard became a passive hobby while he did not have much to do, but he was pretty keen now to cut it off.

“It was meant to go after my first game,” Thilthorpe said.

“Mum was a big believer (and) a lot of people in my family told me to keep it a bit longer after my first game.

Riley Thilthorpe and Izak Rankine. Thilthorpe will be shaving his beard for a good cause.

“It’ll go in the next couple of weeks and I’ll try to raise some money.

“My aunty died of breast cancer seven or eight years ago, so it’s something that’s pretty close to me.

“That’s what it’ll be going to.”

Thilthorpe was loving being back playing after so long on the sidelines.

He described himself as a terrible supporter.

“We obviously didn’t start (the year) the way we wanted (0-4) so it was pretty tough to watch because I couldn’t really impact anything,” said Thilthorpe, who put on about 4kg of muscle while out of the team.

“It was a long four months.

“Sitting out for a while, you realise how much you miss it.

“The stuff I miss the most is being with the boys those 15 minutes after a win, coming in after a goal and talking.

“The crowd make it unbelievable — we’ve got the best fans in the league.”

Since round 18, Adelaide has booted more goals when it has kicked to Thilthorpe inside 50 than any other target at any club has across the competition.

He is also No. 6 in the AFL for the team retaining the ball and seventh for the side scoring when he is targeted inside 50.

In-form Crows forward Darcy Fogarty ranks fourth (team goal), seventh (team retention) and second (team scoring) in the league in those statistics during the same period.

Darcy Fogarty kicked five goals on the weekend. Picture: Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

The duo are also among the top-10 for two other inside 50 metrics since round 18: mark win rate and one-on-one win rate.

Thilthorpe said Fogarty, who kicked an equal career-high five goals in his 100th game on Saturday night, had taken a massive step this year since joining the leadership group.

“He’s a lot more vocal with a lot more demand from us,” he said.

“He speaks up a lot more in meetings and he knows what he’s talking about so when he talks we all listen.

“With Tex going down and having some younger boys playing, he really stepped up.”

Thilthorpe believed Adelaide could return to being one of the league’s highest scoring teams next season, calling its forward line “elite”.

The Crows averaged an AFL-best 95.3 points per game in 2023, despite finishing 13th on the ladder.

They were the 13th-highest scoring side (83.7 points per game) so far this year.

With Taylor Walker likely to play on next season, Thilthorpe and Fogarty’s improvement could lead to Adelaide having one of the best three-prong tall forward trios in the league.

“I think we work really well together so it’s exciting,” he said.