Orazio Fantasia, Jackson Hately could bolster Adelaide Crows’ best 22 under Matthew Nicks next season
Matthew Nicks’ first season as Adelaide coach featured some rare highs, but mostly lows. But the Crows’ best team could look vastly different should the club land a few key signings during the trade and free agency period. SEE THE BEST 22
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Orazio Fantasia will have to convince Adelaide’s medical department he is worth the pursuit to get a return to South Australia, Crows football boss Adam Kelly says.
Fantasia has become the latest big name Bomber to look for a move away from Essendon, with Kelly confirming the former Norwood product wanted to return home.
“We understand he wants to come back to South Australia,” he told SEN SA.
“Any player that’s gone interstate who wants to return home, we’re keen to talk to and understand what their motivations are.
“We’re just not sure where that one will lie and how that will play out, but we’re always keen to talk to South Australians who want to come home.”
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Kelly’s confirmation of Fantasia’s desire to come home follows on from his counterpart at Essendon, Dan Richardson, last week saying he would not be surprised if the SA product looks to return to Adelaide.
At 25, Fantasia fits the age profile of who the Crows want to add to their list as Adelaide undergoes a rebuild under Matthew Nicks.
He would also help cover the loss of Tyson Stengle for the first four games of 2021 for his AFL imposed sanction.
But the Crows insist they won’t pay over the odds for Fantasia, who has dealt with a series of quad, calf, knee and hip issues in recent years.
Port Adelaide, who Fantasia was heavily linked to in 2019 before he decided to stay at Essendon for another year, could use him to push Connor Rozee and Zak Butters into the midfield more regularly but also won’t pay overs for him.
Fantasia has passed independent tests on his body, which have been forwarded to the Crows and Power.
Kelly said the injury issues meant any move for Fantasia would have to be approached with some caution.
“As you’d imagine there would be some obvious concern there. I think he’s played 33 games over the last three years, so he’s had some durability issues,” he said.
“If we went down that path our medical team would make a thorough assessment because that obviously is an area of risk, but hopefully for Orazio it’s something that can be managed and he can get back to the footy he was playing (at his best).”
As well as the possibility of Fantasia, Jackson Hately has declared his intention of moving to the Crows.
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Brad Crouch is exploring free agency and his manager will inform the Crows of any offers from other clubs to see if Adelaide will match it.
Key defender Kyle Hartigan has a contract offer in front of him but has been confident he can get a two-year deal from a Victorian club after a solid end to the season, while David Mackay’s future will depend on the final list sizes.
Unless there are dramatic changes in the trade period, the Crows will also enter December’s draft with their best-ever hand.
As it stands, this includes pick 1, 8 (received from GWS last year) and 20.
West Adelaide’s Riley Thilthorpe, Western Australia’s Logan McDonald and Victoria’s Elijah Hollands are considered to be the three candidates the Crows will pursue with the No. 1 pick.