In 2005-06, Reilly started to deliver on the promise he showed as a former first-round draft pick, playing 47 of a possible 49 games.
Injuries kept him to just 25 games in the next two years, but it was form rather than fitness that saw him dropped in the middle of last season.
He enjoyed a purple patch of good form when he returned to the Crows side in round 15, averaging 25 possessions in a stunning seven-week period before tapering off in the final few weeks.
Unsure of his place in the team, Reilly sat down with coach Neil Craig and asked what he needed to do in order to re-establish himself as a regular player.
“Craigy mentioned tagging to me and said it was a possibility," Reilly said. "I did a little bit of tagging when I first came over [to Adelaide] just helping out off the bench. I hadn’t really done it for any length of time, but I thought I should grab the opportunity with both hands and make the most of it.
“I’m just after some team security at the moment. I’ve been thrown around in a lot of positions over my career and I’m keen to settle down in one spot and make it mine for the whole year. If it’s a tagging role, well I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Reilly, 26, is unlikely to develop into your traditional tagger, whose sole focus is to shutdown the opposition’s best player.
The introduction of zoning has decreased the demand for full-time stoppers in the game and forced negating players to develop other skill sets.
Last year Rob Shirley was told to work on his offensive skills if he wanted to play every week and over at Port Adelaide premier tagger Kane Cornes is being asked to do the same thing.
Reilly has been studying tapes of two of the league’s most attacking stoppers, Geelong’s Cameron Ling and Hawthorn’s Brad Sewell, and the Crows are hopeful the long-kicking onballer can develop into a similar-type of modern-day tagger.
“That’s one of the reasons why I’ve been given a crack at tagging, so I can shut players down but also hurt teams going the other way,” Reilly said.
“One of the main things I’m working on is picking my time and knowing when to defend and when to attack.
"I’m just looking forward to being able to play against some of the best players in the competition.”
Reilly played a half opposed to emerging Power midfielder Travis Boak when the two sides did battle in round one of the NAB Cup, which freed up veteran Michael Doughty to play almost exclusively across half-back.
Reilly said he would use the remaining three NAB Challenge to develop his craft and try and secure a spot in the side come round one.
“I don’t feel I’ve consolidated my spot at all because our squad runs pretty deep, so I’m just looking after myself at the moment,” he said.
