My Two Cents: Failed Crows have three golden AFL off-season opportunities | Andrew Capel
The Crows have failed spectacularly this year but they can still win the off-season, writes Andrew Capel.
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Whichever way you cut it, season 2024 has been a massive fail for the Adelaide Football Club.
A season that began with great expectations and the club publicly stating that anything less than a finals appearance would be a “failure” has been just that.
In one of the most even seasons in VFL-AFL history, the Crows have won only eight and drawn one of their 22 games and sit a lowly 15th with one round to play.
They will miss the finals for the seventh consecutive season, having not made the top eight since they were shockingly upset by Richmond in the 2017 grand final and then seeing things go pear-shaped following the infamous pre-season camp on the Gold Coast.
But all is not lost.
In fact, Adelaide could be on the verge of an exciting new era. The cards are falling its way. Now it has to play them wisely.
The core of the Crows’ next generation team is there.
Captain Jordan Dawson and brilliant playmaker Izak Rankine – two players it has secured in trades (from Sydney and Gold Coast respectively) in the past three years – are guns.
Key forward Darcy Fogarty, who has kicked a career-high 41 goals this season, has finally lived up to the promise that saw four-time Hawthorn premiership player and draft analyst Gary Buckenara declare that he was the best player in the 2017 draft pool before he slipped to Adelaide at No. 12.
Riley Thilthorpe – a giant of a man at 201cm and 110kg – has shown since his return from a long-term knee injury that he can be the Crows’ main focal point in attack for a decade.
His bad injury in the pre-season, which kept him out of Adelaide’s AFL side until Round 19, severely impacted the club’s year.
Josh Rachele is a dynamic small forward with plenty of upside, Jake Soligo has enjoyed a breakout season and has the potential to be one of the best midfielders in the game, utility Max Michalanney plays with a hard edge and is a future star, Mitch Hinge has come on in leaps and bounds, last year’s top draft pick, Daniel Curtin, has a bright future and Ben Keays is a heart and soul player who brings toughness to the team.
But for the Crows to break their seven-year finals drought and take the next big step towards competition-wide respectability, they must strike while the iron is hot and win the upcoming off-season.
They are cashed up and the planets appear to be aligning for them.
Melbourne premiership midfielder/forward Alex Neal-Bullen has already requested a trade from the Demons.
A South Australian who came through the SANFL system with Glenelg, the 28-year-old has two years to run on his contract but has asked for a return to SA for family reasons.
“The decision became clear that I need to put my family first and move our family back to South Australia,’’ Neal-Bullen said in a statement.
The Dees are not expected to stand in his way, given the circumstances and the fact that Neal-Bullen – said to be a man of great character – is so highly-respected.
Neal-Bullen isn’t a flashy player but he is highly effective, a leader and can play a variety of roles, whether it’s in the midfield, half-forward or half-back.
Fellow Croweater Jack Lukosius – selected at pick 2 at the 2018 AFL national draft by Gold Coast – appears to be out of favour at the Suns and could be on the move.
He was dropped for the first time in his AFL career for the Round 22 clash against Essendon and is understood to have met with Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks on the Gold Coast in the lead-up to that game.
Lukosius played in the VFL on the weekend and starred with 25 disposals, 14 marks and five goals, illustrating his enormous talent.
With Suns coach Damien Hardwick currently preferring the key forward combination of Ben King, Mac Andrew, who kicked the match-winning goal after the siren against the Bombers, and Academy pick Jed Walter, Lukosius might be considered surplus to requirements at a club which has been heavily linked to triple Richmond premiership utility Daniel Rioli and could be keen to create some salary cap room and add some draft capital.
This is despite Hardwick last week declaring Lukosius was “a required player’’.
The Crows have been tracking the 24-year-old, who kicked 39 goals last season, since Gold Coast drafted him – just like they did with Rankine before pouncing on him in the 2022 trade period.
While he is predominantly a key forward, Lukosius has the size and athletic capabilities to play various roles.
He is an elite kick who makes things happen with his booming right boot.
With both players seemingly available, Adelaide has to strike while the iron is hot.
But it needs to make it happen without giving away its first selection in this year’s national draft – currently No. 4 overall.
The Crows need another young gun midfielder and this year’s top 10 is full of them.
Dynamic South Adelaide speedster Sid Draper – likened to Port Adelaide star and Showdown 56 medallist Zak Butters – would be a perfect fit.
Not only is he brilliant, but he is a Croweater, which would take away the risk of Adelaide losing him to the go-home factor – an issue which has plagued it before.
In a perfect world, the Crows would also nail a quality young ruckman in the draft.
Boom Sturt giant Alex Dodson, who is still mulling over whether to choose football or basketball as his career path, would be the ideal selection.
But he is tipped to be a late first or early second round selection, making Adelaide’s job of getting him difficult.
The Crows also need to try to secure father-son prospect Tyler Welsh – son of four-time club leading goalkicker Scott Welsh – who kicked a career-best five goals in their SANFL win against Port on Saturday.
Adelaide currently owns selections 4, 27, 42 and 60 in this year’s draft and has plenty of moving and shaking to do.
Signing veteran star forward Taylor Walker and extending standout full back Mark Keane’s contract – he has strong interest from Victorian clubs, including his former club Collingwood – are also on its ‘to do’ list.
But this looms as a make or break off-season for the Crows, who need to be brave, creative and ruthless with their list management.
They should put next year’s first and second round picks on the trade table to help their recruiting cause, along with trying to add some more picks by moving out depth players that might have some currency.
They include Sam Berry, Elliott Himmelberg, Lachlan Gollant, Harry Schoenberg, Chayce Jones and Will Hamill.
Coach Matthew Nicks’ coaching future could well depend on it.
POSSIBLE 2025 CROWS TEAM
F: Fogarty, Thilthorpe, Rachele
HF: Rankine, Lukosius, Keays
C: Neal-Bullen, Crouch, Sholl
HB: Laird, Murray, Worrell
B: Michalanney, Keane, Hinge
R: O’Brien, Dawson, Soligo
INT: (from) Curtin, Draper, Walker, Milera, Nankervis, Taylor, Butts, Berry, Dowling, Pedlar
NUMBERS GAME
42
Zak Butters disposals in Showdown 56 – the most in a Showdown.
28
Showdown wins by Adelaide and Port Adelaide.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“Port supporters don’t have many teeth.’’ – Crow Josh Rachele in the build-up to Showdown 56.
“He’s a really, really good person. I can’t say it enough. And I know people will sit there and go, ‘I don’t care whether he’s a really, really good person’. I do. I care about him. He’s a fantastic bloke.” Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley on Dan Houston following his Showdown 56 knockout of Crow Izak Rankine.
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