Adelaide and Port Adelaide pre-season training begins: All the intel and news from the track
Dan Curtin enjoyed a breakout season in 2025 - but based on his first session of 2026 pre-season, we may have seen nothing yet. See all the pictures, plus the latest from Port Adelaide’s return.
Dan Curtin had a breakout year in 2025 and the early signs are that he can reach new heights in 2026 as the young gun impressed on the first day of pre-season for Adelaide.
After the Crows were unable to land an A-Grade midfielder in the trade period key figures at the club have said the growth in the midfield for 2026 will come from the younger players already at West Lakes.
Curtin’s name has been mentioned after his 2025 in which he finished second in the rising star following a breakout season on the wing for the Crows.
He has spent time at stoppages with his 197cm frame and this could become more common in 2026.
The 20-year-old looks to have put on even more size over the off-season and importantly this did not impact his running at all as he and Izak Rankine were the standouts in the main running drill at West Lakes on Monday.
While it was only the first to five year players required on the track on Monday, plenty of senior players also reported for pre-season training.
Crows star Taylor Walker continued his recent trend of being there for day one as he prepares for a remarkable 19th season at AFL level.
He was joined by fellow veteran Rory Laird, while senior players Ben Keays, Reilly O’Brien, Wayne Milera, James Peatling, Nick Murray and Mark Keane were also training.
Riley Thilthorpe, Josh Rachele and Jake Soligo also reported for pre-season.
Darcy Fogarty, Mitch Hinge and Max Michalanney all trained away from the group as they completed rehab sessions, while delisted ruckman Kieran Strachan seems set to play for the Crows SANFL team again as he trained with Fogarty.
Callum Ah Chee was not on the track after he was finally made a Crow in the pre-season draft, but new signing Finnbar Maley was out with his new teammates.
Out of the draftees Mitch Marsh did some training while Archie Ludowyke was restricted to time on the stationary bike as he continues to recover from a PCL injury suffered in early July.
“I’m having a chat to the doctors to have a look at the timeline for it,” he said.
“I am pretty unsure at this stage.”
Ludowyke was selected by the Crows at pick 50 on the second night of last year’s draft but in a moment that has gone viral he was up in his room - fearing he was not going to be selected by a club.
“It was good just celebrating with family and friends, to realise my dream was just the best moment,” he said.
“It has happened quickly, I am so stoked to be here. The move over here has been pretty smooth.
“I was a bit unsure if I was going to go or not, I was up in my room and all of a sudden heard all my family and friends start screaming so I ran downstairs and saw that the Crows had picked me up.
“I wasn’t really sure, I just went upstairs for a minute and it happened.”
The 18-year-old key forward - likened to GWS’ former No. 1 pick Aaron Cadman - was touted as one of the top prospects heading into the season but became a slider after a quiet first two matches at the under-18 national championships for Vic Metro combined with that knee injury.
“I’m really not sure to be honest, I am sure every club has their reasons,” he said of his slide.
“But at the end of the day it doesn’t matter where you get picked up as long as you get picked.”
He has taken the No. 34 guernsey at Adelaide, vacated after last year’s No. 4 pick Sid Draper moved into the No. 5 after Matt Crouch’s retirement.
Ah Chee will wear the No. 4 he wore at Brisbane following Lachie Murphy’s delisting.
Hugh Bond moves from No. 40 to No. 21 after Chris Burgess was delisted, Marsh takes the No. 26 previously worn by Harry Schoenberg.
Ex-basketballer Indy Cotton will wear the No. 33 after Brodie Smith retired, while Maley takes the No. 36.
STEPHENSON MAKES CASE FOR PORT LIST SPOT
Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee believes a change of scenery can reignite the career of former Collingwood and North Melbourne forward Jaidyn Stephenson.
The 2018 Rising Star winner was at Alberton Oval on Monday as he trials for one of the two list spots the Power has for 2026.
Trialling along with him were Balyn O’Brien from Norwood and Mitch Zadow from East Fremantle
Still just 26, Stephenson retired at the end of 2024 after 122 games for the Pies and Roos, saying he had fallen out of love with the game.
The Power have given him the opportunity to reignite this passion and Rozee said the early signs were positive.
“He has been great so far with the guys,” he said.
“He is a great personality and he has made it pretty clear that he is willing to come in and work hard and earn the respect of everyone.
“I am not sure where it will end up with the list spot but we have a couple of options.”
Stephenson burst onto the scene for the Pies in his first year, kicking 38 goals, but was suspended for 12 matches and fined $20,000 for betting on himself in the following season.
He was part of a shock trade to the Kangaroos in 2020, and in 2021 broke his hip while doing stunts on a bike while intoxicated.
Stephenson played for Ferntree Gully in Victoria this year and Rozee said coming to Adelaide could be what he needed.
“Yeah definitely I think coming to Adelaide and maybe getting away from Melbourne is definitely an opportunity for him,” he said.
“The space that our group is in at the moment it is an extremely young group so he probably sees himself as more of a leader in that sort of area.
Former Magpie and Roo Jaidyn Stephenson’s audition for an AFL lifeline has officially begun at Alberton, with the entire Port Adelaide squad back in training for the first time this pre-season @7NewsAdelaide@7AFLpic.twitter.com/QmCHcRuKks
— Josh Money (@joshmoney__) November 23, 2025
“So it is an exciting opportunity for him, he has a couple of weeks or a month to really prove himself so it is exciting.”
The Power’s full list was at Alberton for pre-season training on Monday.
But only a handful of senior players had not returned early with the younger players.
Rozee, who has been there since day one, said it was pleasing to see so many players come back early to do the work.
“It is great, they certainly don’t have to be here,” he said.
“Our younger guys have been training really hard and to see so many of our senior boys back out here when they don’t have to be … I think it shows they want to get better and we didn’t finish where we wanted last season so we are here to work hard and hopefully go as far as we can next year.”
Training as an AFL player following his selection as a rookie on Friday was Jack Watkins, who reaped the rewards for a very strong SANFL season in 2025.
“He’s been amazing over the last year or so,” Rozee said.
“He is one of those guys who you just love to have around the club.
“He does all the right things and dominated in the SANFL so yeah really proud of him that he got his opportunity.”
Watkins is also the best friend of star vice-captain Zak Butters.
Butters will be the most in-demand free agent in the AFL next season as a host of teams in his home state of Victoria circle.
He has resisted signing a long-term extension at Port, deferring a decision on his future.
On Saturday Butters said he had hardly thought about his contract as he focused on getting his body right after off-season groin surgery.
Rozee said the Power just needed to make the club the best environment for Butters.
“I think with his personality type he is going to give his absolute all every week no matter what,” he said.
“Our job as a football club is to give him the best opportunity to win, the best environment around the club, put the right people around him to make him want to be here.
“My job is to play good footy, be a good friend and give him a lot of reasons to stay.”
Rozee said he was yet to discuss where he would play under new senior coach Josh Carr in 2026.
Originally published as Adelaide and Port Adelaide pre-season training begins: All the intel and news from the track
Stephenson wins praise at Port as new Eagle pushes for early debut
