Track Watch: The latest updates and scouting notes from Crows, Power pre-seasons
The battle for the final spot on Adelaide’s list is well and truly on, with an overlooked father-son prospect impressing early, while over at Port Adelaide, Josh Carr is already making changes.
Tom McGuane has drawn comparisons to Adelaide workhorse Ben Keays as the overlooked father-son prospect “leaves no stone unturned” to battle for the Crows’ last list spot.
McGuane, the son of Collingwood premiership star Mick McGuane, trained with Adelaide for the first time at West Lakes on Wednesday after being invited to audition for a squad berth.
The Magpies opted not to select the 18-year-old midfielder in last week’s drafts, but his initial disappointment turned to gratitude when the Crows offered him the chance to vie for the list vacancy with ex-Sydney on-baller Zac Foot.
Reuben William, who played in an Essendon District league premiership with McGuane at Keilor last year, was teammates with Keays at Brisbane in 2016-17 and watched McGuane up close this past season as Western Jets’ talent manager, said the youngster’s work ethic and character would make a strong impression.
“He’s a great kid, hard worker,” William told this masthead.
“He actually reminds me of one of my old teammates Ben Keays.
“That left-footer who can find the footy and absolutely cover the ground.
“Some of his GPS numbers were through the roof this year and Benny’s the same – he’s always been that hard runner and worker.
“Keaysy just texted me before (after McGuane’s first training) that he loves him already.”
Both train-on players had some nice moments during the two-hour session, but McGuane particularly caught the eye.
His hard running to be part of possession chains during match simulation and how vocal he was as seemingly one of the loudest players on the ground were noticeable.
“That’s him, Tommy,” William said.
“I know it’s been a little bit of a disappointing year, but he’s made it his mission to leave no stone unturned, so he’s not going to die wondering.”
McGuane played midfield, wing and half-forward as he split his time between Western Jets, representative side Vic Metro and Collingwood’s VFL team this year.
At 177cm, he is of a much slighter build and 3cm shorter than 24-year-old Foot, who is coming off a standout VFL campaign with Queensland team Southport that included Team of the Year honours and a club best-and-fairest win.
But William said McGuane’s size should not count against him.
“At Keilor with Mick being the coach, some players would go out of their way to push Tommy around a bit and Tommy took it in his stride,” he said.
“Zac can cover the ground pretty well, up there with the best of them.
“He’s a solid unit.
“But – and I don’t have a crystal ball – you’d think Tommy could be like that (body shape) in two or three years’ time.
“You’d back in an AFL club’s strength and conditioning program to get him there, particularly because he’s a hard worker.”
William, who played three games for the Lions in 2016, said he and the Jets were thrilled that Adelaide was giving McGuane this opportunity.
“He’s in a really good spot to be able to learn off a guy like Ben to find out what it takes to succeed at a high level,” he said.
“Fingers crossed it all works out for him.”
AFL rules allow clubs with available squad spots to sign unlisted players during the supplemental selection period, which runs until February 20.
PORT LATEST: POSITIONAL CHANGES ON THE HORIZON?
Port Adelaide star Zak Butters is showing promising signs in his recovery from off-season groin surgery, while Josh Carr continued to hint at some positional changes in 2026.
Butters went under the knife to alleviate an adductor issue that had troubled him in 2025 and has been ramping up his recovery since reporting to Alberton for pre-season training last week.
On Wednesday he was doing plenty of kicking in addition to his running, and was in good spirits throughout.
He was an interested onlooker around the midfield group when the players broke into the respective positional lines.
Here is what stood out from the Power’s session;
There were a couple of hints at positional changes when the Power did split into their line groups.
While Jackson Mead has spent his AFL career so far as a forward with stints in the midfield he was in the defence group.
Mead has played 46 games at AFL level over the past two years but struggled to really impact games at times in 2025.
So is this a way of Carr getting more out of the father-son?
Captain Connor Rozee looks set to again feature heavily at half-back with stints in the midfield in 2026.
He had been with the backs so far in pre-season but he said on Monday that was more him filling in the gaps because senior players had been away.
With every senior player back on the track, Jason Horne-Francis and Sam Powell-Pepper were in the building as they recover from injury, Rozee was with the defenders when the Power broke into groups.
With him there, Miles Bergman was with the mids.
While Christian Moraes impressed on a wing in his debut season in 2025, he looks set to be played more as a forward in 2026.
In line for a wing spot could be Ewan Mackinlay as he continues to be one of the more impressive players for the Power this pre-season.
Mackinlay was a player namechecked by director of coaching Andy Collins as to who he had been impressed with recently and the mid-season draftee from North Adelaide is putting together an impressive body of work.
His running has improved significantly and he also improved his strength.
He was with the midfield group showcasing his aerobic capability.
Originally published as Track Watch: The latest updates and scouting notes from Crows, Power pre-seasons
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