Emerging ruckman Reilly O’Brien hopes another strong NAB Challenge showing could see him earn an AFL debut this year.

Although he didn’t play a senior game, O’Brien was one of Adelaide’s shining lights last season.

He started the year as the team’s lead ruckman in two NAB Challenge matches and earned immediate praise for his competitiveness and work ethic.

O’Brien’s form carried on into the SANFL season, where the teen carried the bulk of the ruck responsibility for the majority of the year often matched against opponents with far greater size and experience.

The 201cm Crow finished his first year of senior football ranked inside the top five in the League for total hit-outs and hit-outs to advantage. O’Brien was also runner-up in Adelaide's State League best and fairest award, second only to team captain and retiring veteran Ian Callinan.

Now 20 years of age, O’Brien is again aiming to kick-start his season in the NAB Challenge this weekend.

“They were great experiences playing in the NAB (Challenge) last year,” he said.

“It was a good experience playing against the bigger bodies in the AFL and learning a lot there. Hopefully I can play again this year and learn even more.

“I was pretty happy with my first year. It was my first year of senior footy coming out of the Under 18s and I was happy to string pretty much a full season together and play some consistent footy.

“There’s some great players running around (in the SANFL). Probably the toughest opponents were Angus Kurtze and Sam Baulderstone. They’re very good players and I learned a lot going up against them.”

The challenges won't come much bigger than this week's clash with Fremantle. The Dockers have named 211cm, 119kg ruckman Aaron Sandilands, former Crow Jonathon Griffin, and young talls Matt Taberner and Jack Hannath in their 29-man squad.

Crows coach Don Pyke said it was a great opportunity for O'Brien to learn from the competition's best.

“Reilly O’Brien as a ruckman gets a chance (this week)," he said.

"He had great form in the SANFL last year and he’s really matured and developed over the offseason. It’ll be exciting to see what he can bring.

"We’ll give him plenty of minutes and opportunity experience playing at AFL level.”

The former Calder Cannon was twice promoted onto the Club’s senior list during the course of last season and was named an AFL emergency on four occasions. But the form and durability of lead ruckman Sam Jacobs, who has now played 75 games in succession, meant O’Brien was unable to break into the senior side.

“I was playing as well as I could in the SANFL,” O’Brien said.

“But it was just a matter of team balance in trying to get a game with ‘Sauce’ (Jacobs) playing. In the end, I didn’t get a game, but hopefully I will sometime soon.

“With the sub rule (gone), there’s more potential to play two ruckmen. But we’ll see. JJ (Josh Jenkins) and ‘Sauce’ are a pretty good combination at the moment so we’ll see if I can fit into that.

“I’ll just play the best footy I can and put my name forward.”

O’Brien has settled in well to life in Adelaide. The Victorian, who lives with fellow interstate draftees Harry Dear and Mitch McGovern, re-signed for a further two years with the Club last August and is also close with fellow second-year players Harrison Wigg, Keenan Ramsey and Jake Lever.

“I came to Adelaide last year and I’ve loved it… I’m very happy here at the moment,” he said.

“We’ve got a great bunch of blokes at the Club. I’m not looking to leave or anything anytime soon.”

Stability off the field has helped O’Brien attack his second AFL pre-season as he chases after his AFL ambition.

“Knowing what to expect, in terms of training loads this pre-season compared to last year, it’s probably been a little bit less of a shock,” he said.

“It’s still been very hard. I’ve been doing the full training rather than modified and it’s still been very long and hard.

“To play AFL is my goal, but we’ll see how that eventuates. And just play another consistent year of SANFL footy and play as well as I can.

“After two pre-seasons now, I think I’m ready to have a crack at AFL. If I do get the chance, I’ll play as well as I can.”