AFL pre-season 2024: All the news, photos and takeouts as the Crows hit the track
It looms as the most important season of Riley Thilthorpe’s career so far, but the early signs are very positive. See all the key takeouts from Crows’ track watch here.
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Adelaide’s high performance guru Darren Burgess was a pleased man as the Crows kicked off their pre-season.
The entire Crows playing group was at West Lakes on Monday and were quickly put through their paces by Burgess with some 1km time trials before the footys came out.
“They act as a bit of a deterrent more than anything in the off-season because they know they have to come back and do that,” Burgess said.
“Our guys did them really well.
“Of the single 1kms we had 38 of them get a PB and with 41 guys training that is pretty good.
“So we are in good shape.
“It is good, obviously it is important to kick and catch as well but what we know with this group is that it is a really hard working group so it is not surprising for me.”
But Burgess said he had some surprises in store for the Crows players, with the limited time he has with them this pre-season
“This is the shortest one I have ever been a part of, what it means the off-season is really important and the guys have ticked that box,” he said.
“Where as before we might have done 70 per cent footy and 30 per cent running that might ramp up a bit more and we do more footy and less running because the guys have come back in good shape and we don’t have a lot of time.
“I have gone easy on them for the last couple of years so that will come out for sure.”
THRILLTHORPE
This looms as the most important pre-season of Riley Thilthorpe’s young career so far.
And, while it is early days, it looks like the former No. 2 pick is rising to the challenge.
The 21-year-old looked in ripping shape at West Lakes on Monday and moved extremely well on day one of pre-season.
He ended the 2023 campaign out of form and Burgess said the Crows had changed how the 202cm forward/ruck had approached his off-season.
Thilthorpe himself looked to be thrilled with how he was travelling, with a nice snap for a goal celebrated passionately.
“He looks like he has taken his off-season to another level Riley, he has done a few different things this off-season and I think they are going to pay off for him,” Burgess said.
“Normally what Riley does he just goes and runs, and runs, and runs because that is his weapon but we have just shortened it up a little bit and thrown in a bit of boxing and some other things.
“Riley knows that his ticket to where we all want him to go to is through hard work and truly there is nobody that works harder than him.
“So I’m really confident he will attack the pre-season really well.”
ARISE SIR IZAK?
Wearing the No. 23 made famous by boyhood idol Andrew McLeod, Izak Rankine was arguably the most impressive Crow at West Lakes on Monday.
Not just the way he moved, which was electric for the most part, but some of the stuff he did with the footy when the fitness work for the Crows was done.
In one small sided game, Rankine absolutely turned poor Lachie Murphy inside out in a big reminder of the talent the Crows star has.
“He has the bit between his teeth Izak, I’m really excited to see where that leads,” Burgess said.
“He has had a really good off-season.”
IS BRAYDEN ABOUT TO COOK?
Ever since Brayden Cook landed at the Crows in the 2020 draft, Adelaide coaches have said he can be a serious player, but is just extremely raw.
He’s played 12 games for the Crows in three seasons but the versatile 21-year-old could be one to watch for Adelaide this summer.
He has packed on the muscle to his 191cm frame and has Burgess excited about what he could do in his fourth season.
“Cooky has returned in really good shape and that was an area he had to work on because he is really raw,” Burgess said.
“This is his third or fourth pre-season in his life, people think of him being a 22 or 23-year-old but he is a bit younger than that from our point of view.
“I hope so, it probably has been the part of his game that needs a bit of worth the robustness and resilience so I hope the work he has done over the past couple of years will stand him in good stead for 2024.”
NEW FACES
Adelaide’s three new draftees were in action on Monday but didn’t do everything in the first session.
No. 8 pick Daniel Curtin already has some fans, with plenty of his new teammates getting around the West Australian utility throughout the session.
Burgess said he was excited about working with the 197cm young talent.
“He is an impressive person to stand next to, an intimidating size,” he said.
“I normally look at how people move and he is a really smooth mover for a big guy, he is a bit like Riley Thilthorpe he doesn’t move like a 200cm player so he looks really exciting.”
Former Gold Coast Sun Chris Burgess was in action, while Irishman Karl Gallagher – who is trialling with the Crows – took part in some parts of the first session but did spend time with fellow Irishman Mark Keane in a group that involved the injured Nick Murray (ACL) and Elliott Himmelberg (hamstring).
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Originally published as AFL pre-season 2024: All the news, photos and takeouts as the Crows hit the track
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