Crows draftee Sid Draper’s starring cameo pushes case for round 1 debut
Sid Draper only played 39 per cent of Thursday night’s practice. But a brilliant cameo had Crows fans excited. See what the coaches thought of his game with round 1 around the corner.
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Adelaide’s director of coaching Murray Davis says the Crows won’t get carried away by what has been a near perfect pre-season, while also revealing what Sid Draper’s starring cameo against Brisbane has done for his Round 1 chances.
The No. 4 draft pick had only 39 per cent time on ground, but had a big impact in the Crows’ three-point win over reigning premiers Brisbane on Thursday evening.
Injected to the midfield in a sub role, Matthew Nicks said the Crows decided to not go with an extended interchange, Draper had 14 disposals, eight contested possessions, four clearances, two marks, two tackles and two score involvements with his agility and ability to explode from stoppages impressing.
The South Adelaide product was key in the Crows coming back from 22-points down in the fourth to claim the win over the Lions.
Davis said seeing what Draper could do was a “little win” the Crows could take from the pre-season game.
“Young Sid Draper came in towards the end and was pretty important in getting the ball going our way from centre bounce as well,” he said.
While he looks to be eased into AFL action as the sub to begin with this year the performance will only intensify the calls from fans for Draper to be unleashed from the off in Round 1 against St Kilda.
Davis hinted the Crows would continue to be measured with Draper, but did say he offered Nicks’ side a different dynamic in the midfield.
“It should do a lot for his confidence that he can (perform like that), we have been really pleased with how he is progressing and we will continue to get him there the right way but he should be really pleased with the way he went,” he said.
“I know our midfield coach was, he just gives us a bit of a different dynamic there.
“Everyone would have seen his speed and agility, he is just a difficult matchup in that regard.”
The tight win over the reigning premiers on Thursday night follows on from the Crows getting the better of fierce rivals Port Adelaide in a practice match last week.
The near perfect pre-season on the results front, and with no long-term injuries, could continue to raise expectations that 2025 is the year that the Crows finally break their finals drought.
But Davis, who came to West Lakes from the Lions in the off-season, said Round 1 against the Saints would continue to be the only focus.
“There have been some stuff that we have been working on that we have been able to do but we know that we still have improvement in us and that will be the focus and the talk of the group,” he said.
“I was at Brisbane when we won two pre-season games and lost Round 1 so I am well aware, as are the coaching group and the playing group is that it is still a pre-season game and our focus is purely on Round 1.”
CROWS NAIL MIDFIELD MIX BUT STILL NO WISER ABOUT CURTIN ROLE
It has taken years but Adelaide looks like it finally has the right midfield mix ahead of a crunch year for the Crows.
But the Crows need to quickly stamp out some of the defensive errors and turnovers that killed them at times against Brisbane in their final pre-season match when the proper stuff rolls around.
And we are still none the wiser as to whether Dan Curtin can work as a forward to begin the Crows’ 2025 campaign.
Yeah it was a pre-season clash but it could be a big confidence-boosting win by the Crows on the eve of the season, especially since they came back from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit against the reigning premiers.
“Don’t underestimate a little win over the reigning premiers and the belief it might give this Adelaide side,” four-time premiership winner Jordan Lewis said on Fox Footy.
“They have been challenged.”
Behind this was the Crows’ new-look midfield.
Even criticised before they embarked on the rebuild for having a midfield that was too slow, one-dimensional or small, the Crows’ mix now looks to have addressed those areas.
Captain Jordan Dawson looked to be back to his best and the big bodied midfielder was distributing and getting the Crows away with his pinpoint kicking.
Star Izak Rankine wasn’t at his sparkling best but still managed to have quite the impact on the game, a positive sign for the Crows.
“We haven’t been like wow that’s Izak Rankine,” Hawthorn legend Dermott Brereton said.
“So pretty happy with what they are trotting out and when he does click and he will that is new level stuff for them.”
Jake Soligo started the game like a house on fire, while new recruit James Peatling’s workrate was impressive as was his ability to win contested footy.
Matt Crouch did the grunt work in the contest and remains important for the Crows, despite some fans on social media believing otherwise.
And when he came on as the “sub” draftee Sid Draper showed his speed and agility from the stoppage and did his best to push for more game time in Round 1 against St Kilda.
Following the game Dawson said these options now gave Adelaide “flexibility” in its midfield with either him, Rankine, Peatling or Soligo able to start as a forward and let another Crow run through there.
It is just the one game where Crows senior coach Matthew Nicks has had the full contingent together so far this year, but the early signs are positive.
While they were a bit messy going forward early on in the game, they quickly improved
Against the reigning premiers they shared the spoils when it cames to clearances (40-40), claimed the centre clearance count (16-13) while were edged at stoppages (24-27).
Crows coaching director Murray Davis said it was a promising showing.
“I think that is one thing that we have been able to do is bolster our midfield group,” Davis said.
“You look at Brisbane’s midfield group, they bat really deep through there and I think that is what the really good teams do and that is what we are working towards, being a really good team.”
With Draper providing a spark around the ball with his speed and agility in the fourth quarter, Dawson went forward and used his excellent overhead marking ability for what proved to be the game-winner.
Brisbane legend Jonathan Brown said having this flexibility was crucial for the Crows if they were to realise their goals in 2025.
“They need to get into finals this year,” he said.
“There is obviously a lot of pressure on them, they haven’t been there for seven years.”
But there still are some areas that need improvement and some question marks leading into the clash against the Saints in just over two weeks’ time.
Especially in defence, the Crows made too many errors or turned over the ball way too easily.
It looked as if this would cost them.
Nick Murray coughed up the ball twice in short succession with the exact same kick, while his fellow key defender Mark Keane also made errors that he cannot afford to make.
The Crows need their two pillars down back to be a lot more solid than they were against the Lions with either a teammate - Luke Nankervis with a fine tackle to stop Kai Lohmann - bailing them out or Brisbane not fully taking advantage of the error.
Rory Laird and Mitch Hinge had their fair share of the ball off halfback with 24 and 23 disposals each.
But they also had eight and four turnovers respectively, and with Nankervis impressing there could be a selection squeeze when it comes to the backline with Max Michalanney and Wayne Milera to return.
Back in defence, just how Laird fares there will be something to watch as he got caught out by the pressure of the Lions early on.
Up the other end of the ground, it is still unclear whether Curtin is going to work as a forward in the short term.
The former No. 8 pick has forced the Crows to think about going with four talls in their forward line, with him joining Taylor Walker, Riley Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty, through his strong pre-season so far.
But he didn’t touch the ball in the first quarter and his first real impact on the game as a forward was when he pushed Brandon Starcevich into Luke Pedlar, which left the Lions defender with a concussion but Curtin will likely avoid any sanction for what was considered to be a football act.
As he has done this pre-season he also played on the wing, and even on the ball for a short period as the Crows looked to get him involved more in the game.
“Dan is sort of playing a bit of a new position but he moves really well for a big fella,” Davis said.
“He is only in his second year and he is learning to be able to play that role.
“Consistency is the first thing, that is what you are hoping to see from any player. You just want that consistency, and as a second-year player that is the focus for him.”
The Crows are still working out where Curtin’s best position will be long term, and that is an exciting problem to have.
But it still seems like playing him as a forward isn’t making the most of his size and his talent, especially when they already have Walker, Thilthorpe and Fogarty already there.
Originally published as Crows draftee Sid Draper’s starring cameo pushes case for round 1 debut
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