Adelaide Crows delist Ricky Henderson and Mitch Grigg

REILLY O’BRIEN is on the Adelaide Football Club’s senior list, in a telling pointer the Crows will not wear down lead ruckman Sam Jacobs next season.

Reilly O'Brien in his first AFL game. Picture: Sarah Reed.

REILLY O’BRIEN is on the Adelaide Football Club’s senior list, in a telling pointer the Crows will not wear down lead ruckman Sam Jacobs next season.

O’Brien, 21, was promoted from the Crows’ rookie list Monday as Adelaide made seven changes to its squads - senior and rookie - on the October 31 deadline for list changes in the lead-up to the AFL national draft in Sydney on November 25.

Taking a pointer from Jacobs’ late-season fade-out - either as a consequence of an ankle injury or from carrying 90 per cent of the ruck burden at West Lakes - the Crows’ decision to promote O’Brien indicates senior coach Don Pyke will manage the 28-year-old Jacobs differently next season.

And rather than add more ruck work to key forward Josh Jenkins’ portfolio, Pyke will have O’Brien ready to play AFL - just as he did when Jacobs missed two games with his ankle injury in August.

O’Brien’s work against Brisbane and Fremantle in rounds 20 and 21 - when he had 29 and 18 hit-outs while Jacobs was recuperating from injury - highlighted Adelaide did indeed have an emerging ruckman in reserve at West Lakes and earned high praise from Pyke.

A No. 9 pick in the 2015 AFL rookie draft, O’Brien signed a two-year contract extension in August 2015 - a deal that is certain to be quickly reviewed now that he is a senior-listed player.

Adelaide’s seven list-management moves are -

RETIRED: Former captain Nathan van Berlo and defender Matthew Jaensch.

DELISTED: Ricky Henderson, Mitch Grigg and ruckman Luke Lowden, who did not play any AFL game for Adelaide after moving from Hawthorn at the end of 2014. Lowden was overtaken by O’Brien in SANFL duty this year.

Ricky Henderson has been delisted. Picture: Sarah Reed.

TRADED: Midfielder Jarryd Lyons (to Gold Coast).

CUT from rookie list: Forward Keenan Ramsey.

UPGRADED O’Brien from the rookie to senior list.

RE-CONTRACTED forward Harry Dear on a two-year extension.

RETAINED forward Jonno Beech and ruckman Paul Hunter on the rookie list.

By cutting six players from the senior list and promoting O’Brien, Adelaide has opened the path to having five picks at the national draft. The Crows’ calls are at Nos. 13, 43, 53, 67 and 89.

The delistings of Henderson and left-footed midfielder Grigg Monday were not surprising.

Henderson, 28, leaves Adelaide after playing 90 AFL games as another Crow who rose from the rookie list after being drafted in 2008. He did not find a new home during the recent AFL trade period in which the utility was an unrestricted free agent.

Henderson is expected to find a new AFL club in the next month when the Victorian can be signed outside of the draft process.

Grigg, 23, played 20 AFL games after being the No. 41 pick in the 2011 AFL national draft.

Dear, Beech and Hunter all have new contracts for next season.

“Harry (Dear) showed some promising signs in the SANFL this year and was our club’s leading goalkicker at that level,” said Adelaide list manager Justin Reid.

“Jonathon (Beech) and Paul (Hunter) also impressed in the SANFL with Beech winning the State league club champion award and Hunter developing nicely as a ruckman-forward.”

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