Adelaide Crows news: Luke Pedlar ready to make his mark in 2023
Luke Pedlar has managed just five AFL games since being taken with pick 11 in the draft. But he says there are reasons for that as he aims for a big 2023.
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His body hasn’t allowed him to make the impact at AFL level that he wants, but Luke Pedlar is confident his fortunes can change in 2023.
The former No.11 draft pick has managed only five games for the Crows over the past two years, with two of those unused stints as the medical sub.
“It is frustrating, I would be lying if it wasn’t, but everything happens for a reason, so I stick by that and hopefully my opportunity comes,” Pedlar told The Advertiser.
“It might not be the path that I wanted right now, but that’s OK.”
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Chief in these lack of appearances at the top level for Pedlar has been groin issues.
A tackling beast, Pedlar concedes that his body hasn’t been able to hold up at AFL level so far.
But he is confident this will change next year.
“I’m just trying to get my body to the level that it needs to be at AFL level to handle the loads and everything,” he said.
“That is pretty much it, managing that has been my main focus this year.
“I have been trying my hardest to get my body to a point where I can put my name forward for selection each week in the AFL side. That has been the main thing going into next year.”
Seeing housemate Sam Berry establish a place in the Crows midfield, and become one of the best tacklers in the league, is also giving Pedlar additional motivation.
“We have had probably different paths. Sam has had a good run with injuries and he has had some really good form and I couldn’t be happier for him, he has been great to watch,” he said.
“We do everything we can to be proper professionals, it has been unreal living with Sammy.”
With the Crows midfield looking more settled towards the end of the season, the decision was made for Pedlar to get a good run of games in the SANFL.
In the state league he has impressed as a forward, a role he is more than open to playing at AFL level.
“Being able to play the last seven weeks now I have built a lot of confidence from that,” he said.
“My body has held up to this point now. I have really enjoyed the last month and a bit
“It is obviously part of my journey as a footballer, it’s part of the way that I’m paving my career. I’ve played a lot of midfield, but I’ve also played some forward as well.
“And I think just finding whatever that balance is that will suit our side. I’m happy to play forward and I think I will eventually go into the midfield at times and be a centre bounce player, but at the moment I’m focused on being a forward.
“As my body matures I do want to play more midfield and then go forward.”
Pedlar and the Crows state league side have a chance to secure a spot in the SANFL grand final when they take on Norwood in the preliminary final on Sunday.
“It is unreal, it is a huge opportunity for our club,” Pedlar said.
“We are a young group and to take it as far as we can in the finals series is something we will remember for a long time.”
No further action on Saad racist attack
An investigation was launched after it was claimed the Carlton star was the victim of racial vilification during the Round 20 clash between the Crows and the Blues.
A Carlton cheer squad Twitter account alleged a Crows fan targeted Saad during the match.
The Twitter account tagged the AFL, SA Police and Adelaide Oval into its tweet.
The Twitter post also claimed the issue had not been properly dealt with by ground staff or security and that the person who allegedly made the slur was spoken to but allowed to remain at the ground.
We are aware of these reports and are investigating. The Club strongly condemns any type of anti-social behaviour.
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) July 30, 2022
Saad, the AFL’s only Muslim player, said at the time “these things shouldn’t be said”.
But after a lengthy investigation the AFL will take no further action on the grounds that spectators in the vicinity at Adelaide Oval gave conflicting accounts “and the making of the comment, nor its nature, could be substantiated”.
The Crows have said that they strongly condemn any form of discrimination or vilification in the game or in the community and that racism has no place in society.
Crows determined to fill in the big gap in Thebby HQ plans
—Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Adelaide Football Club’s new headquarters at Thebarton is likely to include a licensed venue that its fans and members can call home, chief executive Tim Silvers says.
Mr Silvers said the club was determined to make the venue a destination fans wanted to go to and was investigating the best way to make that happen.
“Our members are passionate about visiting our new home so we need to make it a destination that they want to go and we are going to get some feedback from them and make sure that we deliver a site and a facility that our members and fans can call home,” he said.
“We are going to look into that, we haven’t finalised out plans so we are going through details.
“Currently the venue does have a licence already so it will be something that we look into.
“Whether that is a cafeteria, a function space, a bar and a bistro that is something that we will work out over time.”
Mr Silvers said the Crows would need to wrap up negotiations with the SANFL and Adelaide Footy League over the lease at Thebarton Oval in “the very near future” to meet the club’s timeline of moving in by 2025.
After weighing up more than two dozen sites over several years, and making plays for the Aquatic Centre in North Adelaide and the Brompton gasworks, the Crows last month identified Thebarton as the location for its new home.
The $80 million training base and headquarters at Thebarton will include two ovals, one the size of Adelaide Oval and the other the size of MCG, an interactive museum and cafe and an indoor artificial grassed training field which is nearly double the size at West Lakes.
Mr Silvers said he was unsure whether their new home base it would be used for functions after AFL games, but any licenced facility would likely be for functions after AFLW matches, which will be played at Thebarton.
“I don’t know if it is going to be a post-match venue but we want it to be activated all day Monday to Friday when we have training so our members can come to our museum, our function spaces and feel like they are part of the Crows family,” he said.
The Crows are still in negotiations with the SANFL and the Adelaide Footy League around the lease requirements.
The SANFL is understood to have lowered its demands to $8.5 million, down from $11 million, to hand over its lease to Adelaide from the West Torrens Council.
“They are commercial in confidence those conversations but it is mainly around the lease requirements,” Silvers said when asked about what was the main issue with negotiations.
Silvers said the Crows were focusing on being the main tenant at Thebarton “however these negotiations are ongoing”.
The SANFL is strongly considering moving to West Lakes, returning to Football Park, if the Crows get the lease at Thebarton.
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