From Ryan Fitzgerald to Nick Gill – here are the top 10 Forgotten Favourites from the Adelaide Crows
Everyone knows famous Crows names like Rory Sloane and Taylor Walker, but what about others who have graced the Adelaide colours? Here are the Forgotten Favourites.
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Everyone knows famous Crows names like Rory Sloane and Taylor Walker, but what about others who have graced the Adelaide colours? Here are the Forgotten Favourites.
Sudjai Cook
Pick 48 – 1998 Rookie Draft
Games: 7 (1998)
The seven-game rover has the title of being the first ever Thai player to ever pull on the boots in the AFL.
Cook kicked two goals in his only year on the Crows’ list in 1998, with his two best performances coming against Collingwood and Essendon in the middle of the year, as he racked up 19 possessions in both games.
James Begley
Pick 68 – 2002 National Draft
Games: 25 (2003-05)
After four years at St Kilda, Begley returned to his home state with the 68th pick in the 2002 National Draft.
The injury-riddled Begley is unfortunately most famous for being one of Byron Pickett’s bumping victims, which saw the 2004 Norm Smith Medallist rubbed out for six weeks.
Now, Begley is the CEO of Pickstar.
Robert Shirley
Pick 67 – 1999 National Draft, Pick 56 – 2002 National Draft
Games: 151 (2000-09)
After 23 games in his first three seasons, Shirley was delisted at the end of 2002 before being redrafted, where he later became a regular in Neil Craig’s side.
He was previously named as the toughest tagger to face by both Chris Judd and Gary Ablett Jnr.
Nick Gill
Pick 64 – 2006 National Draft
Games: 17 (2007-09)
After being cut by Melbourne in 2001 and North Melbourne in 2003, Gill was left in the wilderness in the SANFL, where he finished second in the 2005 Magarey Medal count.
The forward was selected as cover for Trent Hentschel, and kicked 21 goals – including five against Essendon in 2008.
Brad Moran
Traded from North Melbourne for Pick 37 in 2007 National Draft (Scott Thompson)
Games: 18 (2008-11)
The towering ruckman became the second man to wear both #18 at the Kangaroos and #2 at the Crows, following in the footsteps of Wayne Carey.
Moran’s time at the Crows was riddled with injuries, including one which saw him miss all of 2010.
In just his third game at the club, he kicked four goals against the Blues.
Tony Armstrong
Pick 58 – 2007 National Draft
Games: 14 (2010-11)
35 career games across three different clubs is a unique career for Tony Armstrong.
It took until 2010 for Armstrong to make his debut for the Crows and he played 14 games before he was traded to Sydney for Lewis Johnston.
Armstrong’s best game came in his second match where he racked up 25 touches in a nine-point loss to North Melbourne.
Matthew Bode
Traded from Port Adelaide for Pick 12 in 2000 National Draft (Shaun Burgoyne)
Games: 79 (2001-07)
Bode moved across town from Port Adelaide in one of the first trade exchanges between the two clubs.
The crafty forward made his debut for the Crows against Melbourne in 2001, which would be his only game that year due to injury.
His best year came in 2006, when he kicked 32 goals, including two bags of four in losses to Fremantle and his former club.
Ryan Fitzgerald
Traded from Sydney for Pick 28 in 2001 National Draft (Mark Powell)
Games: 8 (2002)
Before Big Brother, Nova and Television, ‘Fitzy’ was a highly touted footballer, who was picked up with Pick 4 by Sydney.
However, injuries ruined his career even after he was traded home, and he retired after just eight games and eight goals for the Crows, with a best of four against the Swans.
Fergus Watts
Pick 14 – 2003 National Draft
Games: 5 (2004)
After just five games in two years, Fergus Watts requested a trade to St Kilda, where his father was the CEO.
The Crows received Pick 17 for him, which they used on Darren Pfeiffer.
Since his delisting from St Kilda, Watts founded an advertising agency, which is now one of the biggest in Australia.
Jason Torney
Traded from Richmond with Picks 2, 18 and 32 in 2002 National Draft for Kane Johnson.
Games: 77 (2003-07)
Torney was one of the keys in the trade which got Kane Johnson to Richmond, and he ended up being a great servant for the Crows.
He played in the club’s Wizard Cup success in 2003 and was handy in helping the Crows climb the ladder in 2005 and 2006.
His final game was the 2007 Elimination Final loss to Hawthorn.
Originally published as From Ryan Fitzgerald to Nick Gill – here are the top 10 Forgotten Favourites from the Adelaide Crows