AT HOME IN DEFENCE

Chayce Jones’ determination to lock down a permanent spot in Adelaide’s backline in the second half of the season typified the attitude and growth of the group, according to Senior Assistant Coach Scott Burns.

Aside from being the inactive medical substitute in Round Two this season, Jones was playing SANFL and still waiting to break into the AFL team in Round 9 when he was recast from midfielder/forward to a defensive role against West Coast in Perth.

He instantly looked at home and that’s where he stayed for the next 14 games in a row as he produced a strong finish to the season.

“We really liked what we saw from Chayce,” Burns said in his post-season review with afc.com.au.

“He has some terrific attributes – speed, stamina, he’s strong, explosive, powerful, and what playing across half-back allowed him to do was see the game from behind unlike the 360-degree footy in the midfield.

“He’s courageous, he puts his head over the ball, has a strong, penetrating kick and a legitimate passion to want to get better which helps as a coach because you’re more guiding than telling.

“I think he can be a terrific half-back for us for a long period of time. It was good to see his confidence come out in terms of his ability and what he can do.” 

EMERGING TOGETHER

Jones is just one part of a new-look backline that is forming a key pillar in the on-field rebuild at West Lakes.

His 38 AFL games now sit alongside the likes of Andrew McPherson’s 27, Will Hamill’s 25, Jordon Butts’ 24 and Nick Murray’s 13.

“If you look at the younger boys for Butts to do what he did this year was terrific, he’s playing on the best forward every week. There must have been a few Victorian selectors for that under 22 All Australian team because he was very stiff to miss out,” Burns said.

“He is playing in a team that finished 15^th and never got his colours lowered, it was a terrific effort.

“I love the way McPherson finished off the year, in 2020 his last eight games were very good, he had a bit of a limited pre-season and came back and was a very solid player for us across half-back.

“Will Hamill showed more glimpses and he can go to another level this pre-season. Nick Murray was outstanding, he was sitting on a header (on the farm) in December and going for a run at 11pm, he wants it and is passionate about being a very good player.

“We also had little wins along the way like Billy Frampton who went back and played some really good SANFL games then came back into the AFL side, it will be great for him to get a pre-season in defence to develop more."

NEXT UP

Burns is just as excited by the next wave of young defenders who were developing in the SANFL this season.

“The two that have got potential who didn’t necessarily get opportunity were Fischer McAsey, who also went forward, he had a limited pre-season last year which hampered him so I hope he gets a good run at it this summer,” he said.

“And Josh Worrell only played one AFL game but he developed significantly from Round 1 to 22. He was very consistent at SANFL level, he can play on talls and smalls, he’s quite courageous and a very good mark.

“But he’s still learning. You’ve got to remember that Round 1 was the first time he’d played against men in a proper game because Covid in 2020 was scrimmage games. The Victorian boys who came over the last couple of years either missed an entire year or were in scratch matches with other teams, it’s hard to get a good gauge on where they may have been had they played a whole 20 games in 2020.

“Jimmy Borlase his first year in the system he finished runner-up in the state league best-and-fairest which is a terrific effort. He’s a competitor, very good aerially and a very good mark who even went into the ruck in a couple of SANFL games when Strachany was out and he was our best player.

“Paddy (Parnell) has come over and settled in. It’s a challenge coming in mid-year and he hurt his shoulder and carried that but he needs a big pre-season and will be better for it.

“The boys who aren’t playing at the moment have just got to get past the guys who are, and we want them to, because that will take us to a level where we perform better as a team and we’re not sitting here watching finals footy and we can get there as quick as can.”

LEADERSHIP

Helping guide Adelaide’s young backline this season were several key leaders including Brodie Smith, Luke Brown and Tom Doedee.

“I love the chemistry of the middle-aged leaders like Tommy Doedee, Luke Brown and Brodie Smith who were terrific for Murray, Butts and Frampton,” Burns said.

“They are always helping out with young players and match-ups, there’s a real team approach and it’s driven by our mid to senior players.

“They showed great leadership throughout the year. It’s great to be involved in a line with really strong leaders who want to be the best they can be but also want to help the younger guys fast track their development.”

The bond between the defenders was evident in Round 23 when Smith ran to celebrate with Jones after he kicked a goal in the win over North Melbourne.

Jones had pushed forward, received a handball from David Mackay and kicked a goal on the run from 40m then was swamped by his teammates.

“Big build up to this, first goal for 2021 by anyone playing in the back six,” Smith later Tweeted.

CONFIRMATION

Burns said the 2021 season had validated what he thought of the group before arriving at West Lakes last summer.

“Without speaking on VB or Rahls’ behalf, I think it confirms what the new coaches coming in thought and that’s what we saw the Club achieve in the last five to six weeks last year (2020) was a fair bit of resilience and ticker.

“Unfortunately there were a few games this season where we didn’t put out the performance we would have liked, but most of the other games we were around the mark.

“There was a lot to like and our consistency from quarter to quarter and week to week is something to work on.

“Our young players haven’t been gifted games, the young fellas who played good footy gave themselves every opportunity from the work they put in during November and December.

“The pleasing thing going into this pre-season is those guys are still there and the blokes who missed a lot of the season like Wayne Milera and even Browny who only played 11 games, they’ll get a good run at it.

“We are still going down that youth path and if the older guys make it harder for them to get in and they have to go to another level at training or in their performance, that is a blessing for us.

“There’s no guarantee a 20-year-old who played 15 games this year will play 10 next year, who knows who will stand up, it’s going to have a lot to do with the individual’s attitude and how much do they want it.”