AFL legend Shaun Burgoyne backs a fit Wayne Milera to star in 2025
A four-time AFL premiership great can see plenty of upside in a Crow that ‘has all the talent’ to become an All-Australian, if he stays fit.
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Adelaide defender Wayne Milera has the potential to be an All-Australian if he can remain injury free, according to four-time premiership player Shaun Burgoyne.
The Crows enjoyed a strong recruiting drive in the off-season, landing Melbourne premiership player Alex Neal-Bullen along with GWS duo Isaac Cumming and James Peatling.
But Burgoyne said the return of Milera from his injury could be even bigger for the Crows this year.
The 27-year-old played just the three games for the Crows in 2024 after he ruptured his patella tendon against Fremantle in Round 3.
In 2023 he played 22 matches as the Crows narrowly missed finals.
Burgoyne said he could be massive for the Crows if he can put his injury issues in recent years behind him.
“He has all the talent he has just had body issues with his knees,” he said.
“It would be great to see him up and firing because you have a potential All-Australian half-back flanker there if he can get his body right.”
Burgoyne said the Crows had done really well on the recruitment front.
“Alex Neal-Bullen is a premiership player with Melbourne and has a lot of experience so he adds that in and around the young Adelaide players and the GWS boys in Peatling and Cumming come in as well,” he said.
“So it adds great flexibility for Nicksy (Matthew Nicks) to throw some things around, it gives Jordan Dawson and Izak Rankine their best two players more flexibility.
“Dawson could go to half-back, stay on ball or even go forward and be more dangerous with his left foot and it gives Rankine more flexibility whether he is on the ball or forward.
“Adding those three players is a really big tick for the Adelaide Crows.”
Burgoyne also said whether young gun Riley Thilthorpe could step up and take over the Crows’ forward line from veteran Taylor Walker would also be something to watch.
Burgoyne will be part of Fox Footy’s coverage of the AFL in 2025 as it ramps up its offering, starting with the Indigenous All Stars taking on Fremantle at Perth Stadium on Saturday.
This year Fox Footy – available on Kayo Sports and Foxtel – will be the only place to watch AFL games exclusively live on Saturday’s nationally for the first eight rounds of the home-and-away season.
In this period, which ends with the round 9 Showdown, Crows and Power matches on Saturday’s will be shown on free-to-air on delay.
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Originally published as AFL legend Shaun Burgoyne backs a fit Wayne Milera to star in 2025
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