AFL 2025: The biggest pre-season questions for Adelaide Crows, Port Adelaide Power
Who steps up into Dan Houston’s All-Australian shaped hole off half back? Where does the Crows’ improvement come from? Here are the big questions facing the Power and Crows this pre-season.
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The South Australian clubs are set to ramp up their pre-season training loads this week after both Adelaide and Port Adelaide returned to the track in November.
While Adelaide had its entire list back on deck last week, after the Crows made the decision to officially start their pre-season later than fellow clubs who did not make finals, the Power had its first-to-fourth-year players required at Alberton last week.
But that didn’t stop a big contingent of older players returning early for the Power last week.
This week the Power’s full list – minus the stateside trio of Jason Horne-Francis, Josh Sinn and Lachie Jones – will be back on deck for Ken Hinkley.
Here’s the big on-field questions facing the Crows and Power this pre-season campaign.
WHO IS GOING TO STEP UP FOR DAN HOUSTON?
The Power’s accuracy in front of goal was an issue for most of 2024 but Port’s biggest issue going into the 2025 campaign looks set to be down the other end of the field.
The return the Power ended up receiving for the two-time All-Australian after he requested a trade back to Victoria underwhelmed fans.
If Port can’t find a way to replace the now Collingwood’s star damaging game off half back then the trade is going to be judged even worse by the Power faithful.
The Power got a little bit of a taste in store given that Houston missed the entirety of its finals campaign after his suspension in the Showdown.
This came with mixed results.
Jase Burgoyne was incredible after being shifted from the wing to the backline against Hawthorn, while youngsters Josh Sinn and Logan Evans also impressed in that thriller against the Hawks.
But Ryan Burton turned the ball over far too much in the qualifying and preliminary finals, while Darcy Byrne-Jones was returned to defence for the hiding at the hands of Geelong.
The additions of small forwards Joe Richards and Joe Berry could mean Byrne-Jones could be shifted to the backline.
But while he is an All-Australian defender, can he be as damaging as Houston was back there? Especially with his kicking.
Kane Farrell will return after his season-ending hamstring injury, but the Power have thrived when he and Houston are being a one-two punch as damaging defenders.
Burgoyne could be an answer given his performance in the semi final against the Hawks but he has said he would like to stay on the wing.
A lot of this could come down to whether Sinn is able to stay fit this year.
Injuries have restricted the former first round draft pick to just the 10 games for the Power.
He has the talent to be a contributor at AFL level either as a defender or on the wing, but are his injury problems behind him?
The fact he is in the United States, where there is a focus on preventing soft-tissue injuries, could be big for the Power.
WHERE IS THE IMPROVEMENT GOING TO COME FROM FOR THE CROWS?
Maybe it was because he backed them to improve in 2024 and they went backwards but Hall of Fame legend Jason Dunstall said last month he was finding it hard to see “where the improvement is going to come from” for the Crows in 2025.
Crows fans took umbrage with this, especially after the strong off-season for Adelaide in which Alex Neal-Bullen, James Peatling, Isaac Cumming, Sid Draper and Tyler Welsh came to the club.
But after the extremely disappointing 2024 campaign, the Crows and Matthew Nicks will have to convince plenty of people that they can get back on track in 2025.
Key in this is getting Izak Rankine on the field as much as possible after his appearances in 2024 were limited because of injury and suspension.
He wasn’t the only player the Crows missed through injury.
Riley Thilthorpe, Wayne Milera, Josh Worrell and Matt Crouch all had injury impacted seasons and having them fully fit will be a big boost for Nicks.
Especially Thilthorpe given that talisman Taylor Walker is another year old and the Crows fans are crying out for him and Darcy Fogarty to truly make the forward line their own.
Luke Pedlar only played four games in 2024 and whether he can get back in the side, especially given the players who have come to West Lakes, will also be of interest this pre-season.
And then there is Dan Curtin.
The Crows were very calculated and measured as to how they used Curtin in his first season at AFL level.
Some of this annoyed fans, but there is a desire to not throw him in at the deep end.
But given his size, versatility and ability to move around the ground the West Australian is a fascinating prospect.
In week one of pre-season at West Lakes he impressed as a forward, after playing as a defender and as a big-bodied midfielder in 2024.
Curtin, and his role, is going to be of massive interest to Crows fans in 2025.
Another one to watch out for looks to be young defender Oscar Ryan.
While he didn’t play a game in his first year at West Lakes, coaches are a fan of him and he has further impressed with the condition he has turned up to pre-season in.
HOW WILL JOSH RACHELE REACT TO BEING DROPPED?
And then there is the matter of Rachele.
Him being dropped for the final match of the season, after his comments in the build-up to the Showdown, was the ember that ignited the tinderbox among the Crows fans annoyed at the season and the direction of the club.
Rachele’s 2024 campaign wasn’t a massive decline for the former No. 6 pick, but he was dropped for the final game of the season after what the Crows said was a pattern of behaviour where he prioritised self over team.
After bursting onto the scene as an excitement machine, with plenty of enthusiasm and spark, Rachele at times looked to be playing with not much joy in 2024 – as the Hawks and their small forwards were lauded for the way they celebrated goals.
Navigating paid media commitments also had Rachele in the headlines for reasons he and the Crows would not.
But while fans raged at the decision Rachele looks to have responded well to the late-season axing.
He looked in impressive shape in the first week of pre-season and his participation in off-season running drills pleased Adelaide figures.
But after the furore from fans, he will be scrutinised heavily at the start of the season.
Originally published as AFL 2025: The biggest pre-season questions for Adelaide Crows, Port Adelaide Power
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