Why a fit Brad Crouch could be like a new recruit for Crows this season

Brad Crouch finished one of his efforts, hunched over with his hands on his hips then lowered himself to the ground sucking in big, deep breaths. It was a promising sign after a tough year.

Reece Homfray

@reecehomfray

3 min read

November 19, 2018 - 3:42PM

Adelaide midfielder Brad Crouch breathing heavily after a running effort at pre-season training on Monday. Picture: Mike Burton (AAP).

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Brad Crouch finished one of his efforts, hunched over with his hands on his hips then lowered to the ground sucking in big, deep breaths and looking at his watch.

The sight of him training away from the main group is usually cause for concern but after the year he’s had, simply being out there on day one of pre-season was a sight for sore Crows’ eyes.

“Everyone has mumbled to each other how good it is to see Brad out here today — we won’t tell him that — but it’s great to have him out here,” Crows forward Tom Lynch said.

And he wasn’t simply going through the motions. The 24-year-old who missed the entire 2018 season with a groin injury and subsequent surgery was pushing hard.

Eddie Betts quipped to reporters “pre-season and I don’t get along — football and I do but not pre-season”, and judging by the look on Crouch’s face he probably felt the same way but it’s all part of the long road back.

While a lot of his teammates did kicking drills on Thebarton Oval, Crouch did a good hour of solid running. Head up, chest out, looking fit and strong.

Crouch missed the entire 2018 season with a groin injury but is back up and running. Picture: Mike Burton (AAP).

There was agility stuff with him dancing around cones and goal-to-goal sprints around the boundary, then one-on-one kicking with a development coach like he’d never missed a beat.

The penetrating right foot, the explosive speed to follow up and get the handball receive then spin around the target as if in heavy traffic.

Adelaide has four picks inside 21 at this week’s national draft (8, 13, 16 and 21), but a fully-fit Crouch might be the best recruit of all.

“Yeah, a real good recruit too,” Lynch said.

It’s easy to forget just how good a player Crouch was becoming before he was injured.

The last four games he played in 2017 — Round 23, the qualifying, preliminary and grand finals — make for impressive reading.

He had 42 disposals and 10 clearances (v West Coast), 27 and 3 (v GWS), 29 and 8 (v Geelong) and 29 and 7 (v Richmond). And he laid 30 tackles in those four weeks.

Crouch averaged 31 disposals and 7 clearances in his last four games, which included three finals, in 2017. Picture: Sarah Reed

“He’s a super-elite player of the competition,” Lynch said.

“We missed him dearly last year but as a clubman and a teammate, he’s a really good mate of a lot of the guys and it’s just great to see him fighting fit and with a smile on his face.

“Everyone loves him, so seeing him personally back gives you a great little lift and boost, but he also makes us so much better so hopefully he continues to train well and puts himself in a good position to have a great season.”

Monday’s session marked the first time the full Crows squad had been together this pre-season and Wayne Milera and Reilly O’Brien were shock top-three finishers in the 2km time trial.

Jordan Gallucci (toe) and David Mackay (achilles) were sidelined but captain Taylor Walker trained and there was a big cheer for Matthew Wright when he was reintroduced to the group as a coach after three years at Carlton.

Crouch wasn’t the only one to run separately to the main group. Tom Doedee, Hugh Greenwood and Paul Seedsman ran on the boundary as did recruit Shane McAdam and Andrew McPherson as they increase their training loads ahead of a possible 2019 debut.

“We’re a really good training group, Matt Hass does an incredible job of preparing the guys fitness-wise and Pykey and his guys gear us up skill-wise to make sure we’re ready to go,” Lynch said.