Track Watch: All the latest news and updates from Adelaide pre-season training

Crows captain Jordan Dawson says he couldn’t have been more impressed by Josh Rachele’s 2024 dropping, as the Crows made their pre-season return with Sid Draper still being eased back.

The Crows have made their pre-season return. Picture: Dean Martin

Top draftee Sid Draper will continue to be eased into full training in Adelaide’s pre-season as the young gun battles a back issue.

And Crows captain Jordan Dawson has said he couldn’t have been more impressed with how Josh Rachele has responded to his end-of-season dropping – tipping the young gun to contribute in the leadership space going forward.

Draper was largely managed as the Crows’ resumed their pre-season campaign following the Christmas break on Thursday.

The South Adelaide product had to deal with back issues prior to being drafted by the Crows with the fourth pick of the 2024 draft.

Sid Draper is still dealing with a back issue. Picture: Dean Martin

Dawson said these were continuing to impact the young gun and because of that he would be eased into things this pre-season.

“He is also only 18, he has had a few issues with his body so he will be brought into the main group pretty slowly,” he said.

“We have seen snippets of what he can do but he also has a lot to learn.

“But I’m really excited about what he brings.

“If he earns his way in I mean he can definitely play a role but he has a long way to go. He didn’t do heaps today because he has had some issues over the last month or so but I’m excited by what he is going to bring.”

Draper lived with Dawson prior to Christmas after he was drafted by the Crows and the Adelaide captain said he was impressed with just how mature the young gun was.

“He is a very mature 18-year-old,” he said.

“He lived with me pre-Christmas, he is a great young kid and I’m excited about who he is off the field and what he can be on the field.”

Dawson said he was also excited about how Rachele has tackled pre-season, especially after the way his season ended when he was dropped for the final game of the year for putting himself ahead of the team at times in 2024.

The decision to drop Rachele for the final game of the season against Sydney ignited a tinderbox of fan unrest and heaped the pressure on the Crows and senior coach Matthew Nicks going into the off-season.

Josh Rachele at Adelaide pre-season training. Picture: Dean Martin

Dawson said he had been very impressed with how Rachele had responded.

“Josh he is one of those guys where nobody will put more pressure on him than him,” he said.

“He is always looking to improve and his attitude has been fantastic, he actually had a really good year last year and he has been phenomenal on the track pre-Christmas.

“You see the shape he is in right now and he ran really well today and he is training really well now.

“He wants to get better and he wants to get better in a hurry and I’m really excited by what he is going to bring as a footballer but also in the leadership space because he really wants that and he has been training exceptionally well.”

Rachele has said he wants to become a leader at the Crows and Dawson said this could be on the cards for him.

“He’s a star of the competition as a young player, so the pressure has been on him since his first game where he kicked five goals and all eyes have been on him and unfortunately at times whatever he does draws attention,” he said.

“He wants to be a leader of the club and he wants to help us improve and he wants to be the best player he can be.

“I’m definitely seeing all those things in the last year and especially this pre-season and he is looking to really grow in that leadership space.”

2025 looms as a critical year for the Crows. Picture: Dean Martin

Ahead of what is looming as a make-or-break year Nicks went on a study trip to the prestigious Harvard University in America.

Dawson said Nicks had returned in a way that made players confident in their senior coach.

“He is really sure of himself and his coaching philosophies and his own personal brand,” he said.

“So he has walked away from that really confident in what he is doing and that gives us confidence.”

Recruit Isaac Cumming could return to training next week after he suffered a hamstring strain last month.