Five Adelaide Crows players aged 21 and under to watch in 2021
If the Adelaide Crows have little to look forward to next year, think again. The rebuild is underway and here are five players vital to their revival.
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Adelaide may have only won three games in 2020 but the young guns Matthew Nicks has in his ranks has Crows fans optimistic about what 2021 can bring.
As the Crows’ rebuild continues in 2021, off the back of their best ever draft hand, youth first looks again set to be the way at West Lakes.
Here are some of the Crows’ 21 and under players Adelaide fans should look out for and can get excited about watching in 2021.
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Riley Thilthorpe, 18, key forward/ruck, 200cm, games: zero
Let’s start with the local hope the Crows hope can drag them up the ladder. The West Adelaide product ended up not going with the No.1 draft pick after the Crows decided to bid on Jamarra Ugle-Hagan. But that shouldn’t dampen the excitement about what the former ice-hockey player can do when he pulls on the tricolours. Stands at 200cm yet can run like the wind and has an amazing tank on him, prompting suggestions he could even become a midfielder down the track. He also has amazing skills when the ball hits the deck. Players like this don’t come along too often.
Lachlan Sholl, 20, wingman, 185cm, games: eight
Rory Atkins decision to walk out on the Crows before the season ended – so he wouldn’t jeopardise a move to the Gold Coast – gave Sholl an opportunity and he took it with both hands. Was at the centre of a bit of a storm when his 24 disposal, two-goal game against Carlton in Round 17 somehow didn’t get him the rising star nomination for that game but justice was delivered when he received the recognition the following week. Was torching the rest of his teammates in the running drills on the first-day of pre-season as seeks to add some muscle to his light frame. Definitely a player Crows fans will love seeing more of in 2021.
Darcy Fogarty, 21, forward, 193cm, games: 24
How excited can Adelaide fans get excited about a photo? If that photo is Fogarty looking shredded ahead of what many are saying is a make or break pre-season for him then Crows fans can be forgiven for getting thrilled. We know Fogarty has the talent but after he was dropped from a struggling Crows side for not being fit enough, the questions have raged about whether he has the discipline or desire to be an AFL player. The ‘Fog’ is a cult hero among Crows fans and if he starts to fire in 2021 then the love-in will go up another level.
Fischer McAsey, 19, key defender/forward, 197cm, games: 10
It is a bit rough saying McAsey didn’t live up to expectations in his first year in the AFL, but given how those selected around the No.6 pick in the 2019 draft went in their debut seasons Crows fans may have been a bit underwhelmed. But it takes time to learn the key defender craft in the AFL, and just how poor the Crows were early on in the season could not have helped McAsey as well. Kyle Hartigan’s departure means a spot has opened up in the Crows defence and McAsey would be the favourite to make it his own.
James Rowe, 21, small forward, 173cm, games: zero
The last pick by Adelaide in the 2020 national draft might just be the one to make the quickest impact in 2021. Tyson Stengle is already banned for four games, if he remains at the club, so a spot has opened up for a small forward. Rowe was the leading goalkicker in the SANFL in 2020 and should only get better with an AFL pre-season under his belt. One to keep an eye on in pre-season and throughout 2021.
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