Adelaide forward Luke Pedlar says a positional change in the back-end of last season has helped inspire his bright start to the 2023 campaign. 

Drafted as a midfielder with Pick No.11 in the 2020 national draft, Pedlar has transitioned forward this year and become a key contributor to the Crows’ attacking half. 

Playing seven of the first eight matches of the season, the 20-year-old has kicked 10 goals while averaging two tackles per game. 

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, he said he is relishing his opportunity in the AFL side in 2023. 

“Missing a fair bit of footy over my first two seasons, getting a bit of continuity in my game in the SANFL at the back end of last year gave me a lot of confidence leading into this year,” Pedlar said.

“I decided halfway through last year that I wanted to play a sole forward role and worked pretty closely with Rahls (James Rahilly) to develop my game in that space. 

“So coming into this year that (move forward) has worked out well so far.”

Along with the shift, Pedlar said continuity in his body had been a big factor in his improvement and admitted he is getting “reward” for the hard work he put in over the summer.

“I worked pretty hard in the pre-season so it’s great to be getting a bit of reward now,” Pedlar said. 

“It’s been great (to be injury free) so I’ve just got to keep on top of my body, some injuries you can’t avoid but I can control the ones I’ve got past now and being a pro in that space has been massive for me.

“Playing consistent footy for Matty Nicks and my teammates is satisfying, I’ve still got a long way to go but hopefully it can keep going up from here.” 

Adelaide will take on St Kilda this Sunday at Adelaide Oval with the home team focussed on returning to the winners’ list. 

“There is pressure on the game, we want to put that on ourselves,” Pedlar said. 

“We want to be in that top four this year and we think we’re good enough, and you can see in the past two weeks we have matched it with two of the best sides in the competition. 

“There are a couple of little things we are working on in our game, but we will put pressure on ourselves this week and hopefully come away with a win.”

Adelaide takes on St Kilda this Sunday at Adelaide Oval with the first bounce at 12.40pm (ACST). 

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