We analyse the Adelaide Crows players who are coming out of contract at the end of the 2020 season
Adelaide has 15 players who are coming out of contract at season’s end. We analyse the list, which includes last year’s best and fairest and several veterans, and their chances of re-signing.
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It is only January but AFL clubs, players and managers will already be thinking about or discussing contracts for 2021.
Adelaide has 15 players who do not yet have deals for next year.
Among them are the club’s reigning best and fairest, an emerging young gun, two recruits and a handful of others who have been AFL regulars.
Here is a list of all of the players and what we might expect this year:
Brad Crouch
Crouch’s signature looms as a major talking point all season.
The midfielder last month said he loved it at the Crows, but his contract negotiations would “probably be a long process”.
He had offers from Gold Coast and St Kilda during the trade period, only to stay put after winning Adelaide’s best and fairest.
Wayne Milera
He is expected to split time between the midfield and half-back in 2020.
Luke Brown
Brown, 27, is understood to be in no rush to re-sign but loves the Crows, is from Adelaide and it is likely a matter of when, not if, that he extends his contract.
Until now there have only been preliminary contract talks with the club.
The shutdown defender may not have a high profile but he has missed only 14 games since the start of the 2013 campaign.
Rory Atkins
Atkins, 25, is three away from the 100-game milestone and has been a regular since 2016, playing in all but four matches in that time.
His spot in the team may not be as secure as previous seasons because of the emergence of Chayce Jones and Ned McHenry, and push to get Wayne Milera and Brodie Smith up the ground.
But Atkins seems likely to earn a new deal at some stage during the year.
Kyle Hartigan
The coming season feels like an important one for the 28-year-old.
With Adelaide drafting Fischer McAsey and swingman Josh Worrell, Tom Doedee coming back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and Jordon Butts pushing on, coach Matthew Nicks has several tall defensive options.
Hartigan has been a regular since 2015 but he may need to perform well to be sure of another contract.
David Mackay
The veteran midfielder re-signed on a one-year deal in September after playing 18 games and finishing 10th in the club’s best and fairest in 2019.
He has been a regular in all bar one season since debuting for Adelaide in 2008, only once playing fewer than 16 games – eight in an injury-plagued 2011.
It will be interesting to see how the 31-year-old fits into new Crows coach Matthew Nicks’s plans.
Riley Knight
Knight did not re-sign with Adelaide until late October, when he penned a one-year extension.
But it is understood that if the 24-year-old forward/midfielder plays well early in the campaign, he will earn another new deal.
He has played 54 games for the Crows, including 15 last season, since being selected at the 2013 national draft.
Jordan Gallucci
It feels like a crucial campaign for the 21-year-old.
Gallucci has been in and out of the AFL side in his three years on the list, struggling to lockdown a role and playing 12 SANFL games this past season.
But if he becomes a regular under new coach Matthew Nicks, a new deal seems likely.
Elliott Himmelberg
The 21-year-old appears to move up the pecking order after Josh Jenkins’ switch to Geelong, although he will probably battle Billy Frampton for that tall forward/second ruck spot.
Himmelberg has been on the list for three years and played eight games.
You would expect he might need to play consistently before he earnt a new deal.
Tyson Stengle
Contract discussions are yet to properly start for Stengle, who is coming off his first year at the club.
The 21-year-old small forward did not play as many games as he would have wanted last season, finishing with just two, but mentor Eddie Betts’ switch to Carlton should ensure more opportunities.
Stengle’s camp will reassess where things are at a third of the way through the year.
Ben Crocker
Crocker, 22, arrives at West Lakes from Collingwood as a rookie on a one-year deal.
He has featured 26 times at AFL level and is hopeful of finding a spot on a wing or at half-forward for the Crows.
The more opportunities he gets, the better his chances of winning an extension.
Ben Keays
Like Crocker, Keays has joined the Crows without a deal beyond this season.
If the hardworking 22-year-old forward/midfielder can break into the team regularly, he will go a long way to securing another contract.
He played 30 games for Brisbane after being taken at pick No. 24 at the 2015 national draft.
Myles Poholke
The midfielder will be hoping for more AFL games this year after featuring just twice last season.
It is understood Poholke, 21, enjoys playing for Adelaide and his management hopes that if he starts the season well, he can earn a new, two-year deal early in the season.
Patrick Wilson
Wilson is entering his third year on the Crows’ rookie list, meaning he is a free agent at season’s end.
He is seeking more games and is hopeful the departures of Hugh Greenwood and Cam Ellis-Yolmen will provide more opportunities.
The 25-year-old midfielder has starred in the SANFL – he has won the reserves’ past two best and fairests – but only played a total of two AFL matches.
His camp expects contract talks to kick off if he gets consistent opportunities at the elite level.
Kieran Strachan
Strachan, 24, is set for his second season on the club’s rookie list and shapes as a back-up option if Reilly O’Brien gets injured.
He should get more opportunity to ruck full-time in the SANFL, now that Sam Jacobs (GWS) and Paul Hunter (delisted) have left the club.
If he can develop further this year, he will push his claims for a new deal.