Adelaide father-son recruit Max Michalanney has earned the 2023 Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award, following an outstanding debut AFL season.
The Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award recognises the achievements of a player under the age of 21 as the best ‘all round’ emerging talent.
Michalanney became Adelaide's first father-son selection at a National Draft and made an immediate impact during pre-season to earn a debut in Round One.
The young defender went on to line up in a total of 22 AFL games, averaging 10.8 disposals and 3.4 tackles.
A trademark of Michalanney’s debut season was his ability to play on the best small forwards in the competition, showing maturity and composure beyond his years.
The son of Jim, who played 211 games and in four premierships with Norwood in the 1970s and 1980s, Michalanney averaged 2.5 spoils a game this year and 8.5 defensive-half pressure acts.
Michalanney was nominated for the AFL’s Rising Star award in Round Five, following a standout performance, in which he recorded nine pressure acts, 10 disposals at 90 per cent efficiency, four intercepts and four tackles in the Crows’ 56 point win over Carlton.
The 19-year-old follows in the footsteps of former winners, including Andrew McLeod, Rory Sloane, Brodie Smith and Chayce Jones.
Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award winners:
1995 – Andrew McLeod (Emerging Talent)
1996 – Peter Vardy
1997 – Kane Johnson
1998 – Andrew Eccles
1999 – Brett Burton
2000 – Tyson Stenglein
2001 – Chris Ladhams
2002 – Graham Johncock
2003 – Brent Reilly
2004 – Ben Rutten
2005 – Nathan van Berlo (Emerging Talent), Chris Knights (Mark Bickley Award)
2006 – Jason Porplyzia (ET), Nathan van Berlo (MB)
2007 – Jonathon Griffin (ET), Jason Porplyzia (MB)
2008 – Kurt Tippett (ET), David Mackay (MB)
2009 – Andy Otten (ET), Patrick Dangerfield (MB)
2010 – Rory Sloane (ET), Phil Davis (MB)
2011 – Matthew Jaensch (ET), Daniel Talia (MB)
2012 – Brodie Smith (ET), Sam Kerridge (MB)
2013 – Brad Crouch (ET), Luke Brown (MB)
2014 – Charlie Cameron
2015 – Matt Crouch
2016 – Jake Lever
2017 – Wayne Milera Junior
2018 – Tom Doedee
2019 - Chayce Jones
2020 - Andrew McPherson
2021 - Harry Schoenberg
2022 - Sam Berry
2023 - Max Michalanney
