The Crows have an impressive record when it comes blooding rookie-listed players, with Nathan Bock, Ben Rutten, Jason Porplyzia, Michael Doughty, Jon Griffin, Brodie Martin, Jared Petrenko and former tagger Rob Shirley all products of the club’s rookie list.
Gold Coast, which has already plucked 12 of the best 17-year-olds from the talent pool, will have nine of the first 15 picks in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft, meaning this year’s premiers won’t have a selection until No.25.
This situation will be repeated next year, as Greater Western Sydney prepares to enter the competition.
Adelaide has already elevated Ricky Henderson, Matthew Jaensch and Chris Schmidt to cover long-term injuries this season, and Craig said the development of the trio had put the club in a healthy position to cope with the draft lockout over the next two years.
“We spent a lot of time on our rookie list last year because we knew what the situation would be this year. We knew what would happen with the new teams coming into the competition and also of the [experienced] guys that we could lose,” Craig said.
“The [rookie-listed] guys that have played AFL this year have adapted pretty well, and that gives us that little bit of depth come the end of the year. Depending on how many delistings we have, you might be able to fill the majority of them with players off the rookie list.
“These are guys that have been in your system for a year or more, guys that we’ve had an opportunity to work with, and they’re playing in what I consider a very good competition in the SANFL. When you put all those things together, I think it’s much better than getting a 17 or 18-year-old in round four or five of the draft.
“They’re all still very young players but they’ve got some background behind them ... and they have a huge head-start on an 18-year-old playing in the U18s.”
The Crows have lost one player off their rookie list for next season, with Irishman Brian Donnelly announcing he’ll return home to Ireland at the end of the month.
Adelaide has the capacity to promote another rookie for the remaining rounds under the nominated rookie rule.
Assessing Adelaide's rookies
Coach Neil Craig takes us through the contenders and assesses the performance of the rookies already making their mark at AFL level.
Matthew Wright
“Matty is a very accomplished SANFL league player. He sat down close to the bench last weekend to watch the game against Essendon from a movement aspect. His in-close stuff I’m very happy with, and his skill execution, both kick and handball, I’m very happy with. We’ve just got to make sure he’s got some running power to come into the system. He’s alert to that. He’s working on it and he’s keen to try and develop that part of his game.”
Luke Thompson
“Luke’s last four weeks have been very good for Woodville-West Torrens. I saw him play two weeks ago and was very impressed with what I saw.”
Aidan Riley
“I’ve been really pleased with Aidan … he’s come from nowhere really. I remember in pre-season it was nearly a chat about going off the track, but his improvement to now be playing league SANFL footy has been exceptional.”
Ricky Henderson (promoted to senior list in place of Brad Moran)
“Henderson you’ve seen. I think he’s adapted really well to AFL football in the few games that he’s played, particularly when you consider the background he’s come from.”
Chris Schmidt (promoted to senior list in place of Daniel Talia)
“Chris played a fair bit of footy for us early in the year, but has struggled to get back into the side because our backline has been fairly settled.”
Matthew Jaensch (promoted to senior list in place of Andy Otten)
“Matty Jaensch we know about too. He’s got some talent and he’s got himself into a situation he should have got into. There’s a lesson there and hopefully he’s learned from it but that remains to be seen. He paid a price for it, but from what I’ve seen with Matty, the way he’s knuckled down and performed in the last couple of weeks … I’m very happy with him.”
Brian Donnelly (retired)
“We enjoyed Brian’s presence here and he made significant progress, but not to the level to become a regular player for us at AFL level and there were some pressures at home as well. It was a really courageous decision for Brian to come out and a courageous decision for him to come home because I know he would’ve liked to continue, but it just wasn’t to be the case.”
