How Josh Worrell became a key part of the Adelaide Crows’ new defence

Some Crows fans still bristle about the 2019 AFL Draft, but a key part of their 2024 fightback stems from that night, as Adelaide unlocks a key pillar of its defence for the future.

Adelaide thought it had found a key pillar of its defence in the 2019 draft.

The Crows have, it just wasn’t the player heralded as it at the time.

The 2019 draft might be one the Crows fans cringe at with the selection of Fischer McAsey with the sixth pick.

Adelaide’s highest ever draft pick at the time, McAsey quit the Crows and the AFL in 2023 after losing his love for the game following 10 games in the league.

But 22 picks later on the second night of the draft the Crows selected McAsey’s teammate for Vic Metro, Sandringham Dragons and East Brighton - Josh Worrell.

Nearly five years later it is Worrell who is a key part of a Crows backline, that while might not have star names is building nicely.

Worrell has been impressive this season. Picture: Michael Klein

It makes the 2019 draft somewhat palatable for Crows fans with national talent manager Hamish Ogilvie saying at the time Worrell “was a big bonus” after he slid having been linked to Geelong in the lead-up - with the Cats spending plenty of time on him.

“He was just too good for us to refuse, with the industry probably saying he’s the most versatile tall athlete in the draft, so we were stoked to get him,” he said.

Worrell’s emergence in the second-half of last year and now solidifying his spot in the backline so far in 2024 has also meant Adelaide has not missed Tom Doedee one bit after he first went down with an ACL and then joined Brisbane - who the Crows play on Sunday - as a free agent.

In the first eight rounds of 2023 Doedee had 17.2 disposals per game, 244m gained, 5.4 marks, two intercept marks and 5.4 spoils.

Over the first eight games of this season Worrell is averaging 18.4 disposals, 330m gained, 6.4 marks, 1.5 intercept marks and six spoils.

For a key defender this has Champion Data rating him as elite for disposals and metres gained, above average for marks and spoils and average for intercept possessions with his 5.9 per game.

While some were saying Doedee’s departure to the Lions was a blow for the Crows, at West Lakes they weren’t all that worried because of Worrell.

Worrell’s journey to a key pillar of the Crows backline has had its challenges.

But those who know the 23-year-old say what he is doing at AFL level is no shock whatsoever.

Now head coach at VFL outfit Frankston, Jackson Kornberg worked closely with Worrell when he was an assistant at Sandringham Dragons.

Those who have coached Worrell are seeing him live up to his potential. Picture: Getty Images

Kornberg, who also spent two years on the Gold Coast Suns’ coaching panel including coaching its VFL team in 2022, said he had been thrilled with what Worrell was doing at AFL level.

“He has had a great year, he has been backed in and is able to play consistently and I think he is showing a bit of confidence off the back of that really,” he said.

“His strength is his intercept marking and ball use especially and I think everyone is starting to see that, we all knew he had that as a kid.

“So I’m glad he is showing some consistency to get it done.”

Worrell arrived at West Lakes as a raw tall who could play at both ends of the ground.

There was some excitement about his ability as a forward, especially since he was swung up there for Vic Metro in his draft year - finishing as their leading goalkicker in the national championships.

He also played as a ruck when in year 10 in 2017 for school Haileybury - where he had a midfield including Andrew Brayshaw and Charlie Constable to hit down to.

But Kornberg said it was evident pretty quickly that Worrell’s best position was in defence.

“We, myself and Josh Bourke (senior coach) at Dragons, always saw him as a defender,” he said.

“We always thought his strengths were intercept marking, his ability to read the play, and his ball use was really strong – he could kick off both feet and his left foot is really strong.

“So we thought that all suited that intercepting half-back role.

“He played a fair bit there for us at Dragons but Adelaide knew he could play a number of positions, he could go back and could go forward.

“I think it is good that he is settled down there.”

But the time at Sandringham wasn’t always smooth sailing for Worrell.

He missed out on the Dragons’ under 16 squad, after being told his training standards weren’t up to scratch.

Worrell with Matthew Nicks after the Showdown win over Port Adelaide. Picture: Getty Images

It was the rocket that Worrell needed.

“I think there are a number of kids who are in that same boat, Mitch Owens also didn’t make the Dragons under 16s team and look at what he is doing as well,” Kornberg said.

“There is a bit in sort of getting a bit of a setback in under 15s or 16s, in any pathway.

“So I think he had that early setback and he used it as a bit of a fuel for the fire when he came into 17s and 18s at Dragons.

“He played a fair amount of footy as a bottom-ager and then a considerable amount of footy as a top-ager in his draft year.

“Any time they get a bit of a knock early it really fuels them and Josh had that at the Dragons and then at the Crows being made to wait I think was a really sound decision.”

Kornberg said once Worrell decided he wanted to get drafted it was about “coming up with a plan” to show what he needed to clubs and what areas he needed to strengthen and become weapons.

“I helped him with coaching and development but he really drove the ship once we had that chat and he realised he wanted to play AFL footy,” he said.

The term “life of the party” comes up when you ask what Worrell’s personality is like.

“I had a great relationship with him, we really clicked because he is a bit laid back and a bit of a lad but he also wanted to improve and get to the AFL,” Kornberg said.

“He had a bit of a different way of doing things so he had to be driven at times.

“He was a very popular member of the Dragons and I have no doubt that he would be a very popular member of the Crows.

Worrell after he found out he was making his debut. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“He is an extrovert, he is a big personality and it is just great to see what he is doing now.”

But it has meant there has been some lessons learnt along the way at the Crows.

Before he played a game, Worrell was stopped by police and while holding a probationary drivers licence was issued an expiation notice for using his phone while driving and having a low level of alcohol in his blood after staying overnight at a teammates house.

He was also late to training in 2021 after being kept up all night by a nearby car alarm and started that year severely behind the eight-ball after fronting up to pre-season unfit and a long way off it.

On the field he made his debut in 2021, Round 13 against St Kilda in Cairns and then didn’t feature at AFL level until Round 20 in 2022.

An injury in pre-season in 2023 meant he didn’t play last season until Round 11, and after Doedee’s season-ending injury he was ever-present for the Crows.

He has continued this in 2024, becoming a key part of Adelaide’s backline.

Kornberg said he was a fan of how the Crows had made Worrell wait.

“From a resilience point of view, a young kid coming through I don’t think it is the worst thing having to wait and ply your trade,” he said.

“He hadn’t really played on senior men before so go and play SANFL and learn how to play on the bigger bodied forwards as well I think has held him in good stead.

“So you look at him now and how much he has grown, he has put on a fair bit of muscle and he can now compete and contend with the bigger boys.

“I suppose coming through the juniors he was a big kid in a tall sense but he wasn’t overall huge.

“He sort of got away with his intercepting ability and his ability to jump off.

“So I think now he can play on those big men.”

At 195cm Worrell does have the height to play as a key defender, but also has the athleticism and ball-skills to be a weapon for the Crows off half-back.

Worrell has been described as a “rare defender”. Picture: Getty Images

Kornberg said he was a modern defender.

“He is that rare player, he is also quite quick and agile as well which is quite rare for guys his side,” he said.

“He is an intercepting defender but he has the height to be able to play on monsters, he is deceivingly tall and he has quite long arms on him.

“He sort of has that really rare combination of agility, athleticism, height and couple that with his football ability, he can read the cues as well as anyone I have seen in the pathway.

“He is a really strong pair of hands … he is the mix between a tall defender and a running defender and I think that is really important in the modern game.

“He can do a job whenever he needs to, if he needs to play on a tall he can. If he needs to give some run and carry he can.”

But also, importantly for Kornberg, Worrell’s journey so far has shown to players on the fringes at clubs that it was OK if it didn’t happen for you straight away.

“It is fifth year, it has flown by,” he said.

“And that is what you love about players like this. It has taken him some time to solidify his spot in the team but he has dug in, he hasn’t really whinged or complained.

“It is a great story for guys in the AFL system who are not in the team in their first one or two or three years or not playing consistent footy.

“He was sent to the SANFL to play for a bit, while he needed to improve on some of his defensive stuff clearly.

“But five years in he has clearly solidified his spot in the team, it is a great story for guys in the VFL, the SANFL or WAFL and not sure if there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Here is a bloke who has done it.”

Originally published as How Josh Worrell became a key part of the Adelaide Crows’ new defence