From law degrees to unicycling, Crows and Power stars’ off-field achievements revealed
When this young Crow found himself in gruelling rehab stints, he turned to study to keep him sane – now, he’s applying his engineering degree to the game.
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They’re known for their footy smarts and dedication on the field, but these sporting stars aren’t just clever kicks.
From law degrees, business ventures and hobby farming to unique world record achievements, Crows and Power players are making sure they get their brain training away from the game.
Last year, Crows big man Reilly O’Brien revealed he graduated Melbourne’s St Kevin’s College with an ATAR of 99.65 and was accepted into medicine at Melbourne University.
While playing AFL, the O’Brien has now has completed his Bachelor of Medical Science at Flinders University, a Master of Neuroscience at King’s College London and is now studying a Masters of Business Administration and Master of Public Health at Torrens University.
But the ruck isn’t the only brainiac in SA’s footy ranks – here are some of SA’s other sporting smarties.
ADELAIDE CROWS
Andrew McPherson
Few know the importance of study more than former Crow Andrew McPherson, who actually kicked off a university degree before his big footy break.
“I was young at school, so I was able to get a bit of a head start on it before I got drafted,” McPherson said.
“That was helpful to get the ball rolling a little bit, then I just kept ticking along with it part time.”
The 24-year-old defender completed a year of mechanical engineering at the University of Adelaide before he was drafted to the club in 2017 — but an injury-interrupted career was brought to a premature end at the curtain of the 2023 season.
McPherson continued his studies throughout his time at the Crows, balancing a subject per semester with a gruelling footy schedule.
With countless hours spent on the sidelines due to injury, McPherson said education served as a welcome distraction during tough rehabilitation stints.
“It was nice to have something in the background to focus on when things weren’t great and something to use as a bit of an outlet,” he said.
“Footy is not a forever thing, so having that sort of peace of mind that I had something technical I could use was really nice.”
Twice named the Brian Sando Award winner for his professionalism and dedication to the club, the 24-year-old’s time in the footy world is far from over after being named the AFL’s youngest coach for 2024 in a development role.
But the clever Crow said he would keep ticking away at his degree – and, with a minor in sport mechanical engineering, hoped to integrate his impressive studies with his passion for the game.
“I’ve been lucky enough to sort of land on my feet with the coaching stuff, but you never know how long it’s gonna last,” McPherson said.
“I’ve found a few ways through the degree that I can look at equipment design and that sort of thing, so I could link together a few of my interests in the future.
“I’ve learned about biomechanics and that sort of stuff as well, which has been pretty cool. I don’t know exactly what I’ll do in the future, but it’s definitely the backup or long-term plan at the moment.”
Ned McHenry
When small forward Ned McHenry isn’t on the footy field, he can be found wrangling sheep – or nabbing a catch off SA’s coastlines.
In January last year, the 23-year-old and fellow Crow Nick Murray bought a 204 acre farm at Hartley, near Strathalbyn, with the pair making the hour trek to tend to a 1300-strong flock of sheep on their days off from training.
But that’s not all that fills McHenry’s busy off-field schedule. The gun fisho and media natural also hosts the Fishing Show with Ned McHenry from 6.30-7pm on FIVEaa on Tuesdays, and has a regular slot on Channel 7 with his ‘Catch of the Day’ segment.
Rory Sloane
You’re unlikely to call yourself a South Australian if you haven’t seen Rory Sloane representing our great state.
The former Crows skipper and his wife Belinda have fronted a number of Tourism SA campaigns, including a coronavirus-busting push encouraging locals to explore SA in 2020.
With impressive business acumen, Sloane has also combined his family-first approach to life with his love of footy, joining forces with the AFL to develop Face Footys: kid-friendly Sherrins to help bring new players into the game.
In 2019, Sloane and former Crow James Podsiadly opened AFL Max – an Australian-first immersive skills and entertainment centre that offers football fun to children, adults and sporting fans of all abilities and backgrounds.
Maddi Newman
She’s known to footy fans as having one of the most elite kicks in the AFLW – but off the field, Newman and her sister Hallie are known best to their 180,000 TikTok followers as the hilarious double act with a penchant for comedy.
With viral videos taking aim at everything from New Year’s resolutions to celebrity interviews, the duo’s social media prowess has earned them more than 22.1 million likes on the platform.
Newman is also the brains behind content creation and marketing for the pair’s clothing brand Seeing Double, aptly named after their bond as twins.
Billy Dowling
Not just a hardworking player on the field, second-year Crow Billy Dowling fits in plenty of brain training away from West Lakes in his down time.
The homegrown 19-year-old, who was drafted to the club with pick 43 in 2022, is studying a handy double degree in law and commerce as a backup for life after footy.
Jordan Dawson
It’s no real surprise that Crows skipper Jordan Dawson’s natural leadership extends far beyond the footy field.
The 26-year-old led Adelaide to two Showdown wins in his maiden year at the side’s helm – proving that his decision to pursue a teaching degree at university in his downtime was a deft one.
After capping a career-best season with a club Best and Fairest win in 2023, the skipper wed childhood sweetheart Milly Dutton in a stunning ceremony over the Summer break.
While a teaching career is likely (very) far in the distant future for the gun utility, there’s no doubt prospective students would be captained by the best.
Jess Allan
Jess Allan impressed as the Crows’ primary ruck in 2023 – but her return to West Lakes was a journey three years in the making, after the 24-year-old took an Adelaide sabbatical to complete her training with the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA).
Allan, the sister of three-time Crows premiership defender Sarah Allan, moved to Canberra ahead of the 2020 season, where she studied a Bachelor of Arts with business and English majors at ADFA before progressing to the Royal Military College at Duntroon.
Having now completed her studies, Allan recently inked a contract extension to stay with the Crows until 2025, balancing her role as a Platoon Commander in a Health Battalion with the ADF with her footy schedule.
PORT ADELAIDE
Ebony O’Dea
O’Dea’s remarkable talents extend far beyond the football field.
The former GWS Giant and Magpie holds one of the more unique world records in sport for the longest unicycle platform long jump.
In 2016 at the unicycle world championships in Spain, a teenage O’Dea jumped 2.5m from platform to platform to secure the quirky title.
She’s also the Australian women’s record-holder in the niche sport for platform high jump, platform long jump, and the standard high and long jump.
“No one knows the sport exists until you see it. But I was at primary school when a couple of guys did a demonstration and I just fell in love with it,” said O’Dea about extreme street unicycling, where riders complete tricks while balanced on a one-wheeled bike.
“I just love the adrenaline of it, doing all the tricks … I just stuck with it and got pretty good at it.”
The 25-year-old said she also enjoys “stacking it” – or falling off the unicycle – which she says helps with her football at the Power.
“You learn how to stack it properly without getting injured and then it becomes quite fun,” O’Dea said.
“I got so used to falling on concrete or down stairs so going at the footy when it’s just bodies and grass, it feels pretty soft. So I don’t mind going hard at a contest.”
O’Dea, who started playing football in 2015 while in Year 11 at school, has been forced to give up unicycling due to a clause in AFLW contracts preventing them from doing extreme sports.
“Yeah I do miss it. I think after footy I’ll give it another go and try to get to another world championships,” she said.
Amazingly, unicycling may not be O’Dea’s most unusual passion.
The Barossa Valley girl is a Rubik’s cube queen. Part of her pre-game routine is to complete the 3D puzzle up to 30 times in the changerooms prior to running out onto the ground.
O’Dea said she can finish the cube in up to 30 seconds, or about 50 seconds on average.
“It’s not as hard as people think. It looks harder than it really is, anyone could do it if they learned how to,” said O’Dea, who also helped design Port Adelaide’s most recent pride guernsey.
“I just taught myself, I love puzzles and bright colours. It’s a nice way to pass the time before the first bounce. Some of my teammates were a bit mesmerised watching me do it the first time but they’re used to it by now.”
Travis Boak
He’s still an integral part of the team but evergreen Power veteran Boak is well-placed for life after footy.
The 35-year-old has business interests in beachside venue The Moseley Hotel and range of his and hers underwear line, Rogers, is also doing well.
Launched in 2018, the brand is named after his father, who passed away from cancer when Boak was just a teenager.
Sachi Syme
Part of Port Adelaide’s emerging leadership group, the Coffin Bay native and Wilderness School boarder scored a 96.15 ATAR in Year 12 in 2022, and was admitted straight into a physiotherapy degree at university.
In the same course with teammate Julia Teakle, Syme has deferred for a year to focus on footy in 2024.
Alex Ballard
The sister of Gold Coast star Charlie Ballard, Alex started playing football at 11 years old, and joined Port Adelaide after a successful stint in the state league.
But there’s more than meets the eye with Alex. She earned an impressive ATAR of 97 in Year 12 and is now close to completing a Bachelor in Health and Medical Science (Advanced).
Dante Visentini
Originally from Victoria, the Port Adelaide big man completed Year 12 at Xavier College, where he was vice house-captain and secured an ATAR of 98. In his spare time, Visentini tutored marginalised students and also volunteered at a local aged care home.
After finishing a year of a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Melbourne’s Monash University, he moved to Adelaide to join the Power and is now doing a Bachelor of Health Science at UniSA.
Janelle Cuthbertson
A true two-sport star, Cuthbertson spent four years in the US, playing college tennis for Texas A&M University. While there, she earned a Bachelor of Sport Management.
Ranked just outside the top 100 in the world as a junior, Cuthbertson even played the Australian Open, brushing shoulders with legends including Serena Williams.
But her tennis dreams were shattered after she was mistakenly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 21.
She made the heartbreaking decision to quit the sport and came back home to Australia, before doctors confirmed she had transverse myelitis – or inflammation of the spinal cord.
A less severe condition, Cuthbertson returned to sport and eventually took up women’s football, where she’s now starring with the Power. At the same time, the 33-year-old is about to start an MBA through Torrens Uni.
Darcy Byrne-Jones
The talented defender is part of a cohort of Power stars who graduated last year with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree through Torrens University.
Former captain Tom Jonas, current Head of Player Welfare and Development Paul Stewart and former teammate Jack Watts were among his graduating class, with the quartet the first to graduate as part of a partnership with the AFL Players’ Association.
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Originally published as From law degrees to unicycling, Crows and Power stars’ off-field achievements revealed
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