The 2023 season was one of growth for the Adelaide Football Club.

From a pair of Showdown victories to opening Gather Round in style, the campaign was filled with memorable moments.

Across the next few months we will look back on the 2023 season by hearing from the players who helped define it.

Welcome to AFC Media’s Reflections series.

Adelaide defender Mark Keane’s father had never watched him play a game of Aussie Rules live.

The Irishman made his AFL debut for Collingwood in 2020 during the peak of the Covid pandemic, when international travel was put on hold.

Suffering from homesickness, heightened by his family being unable to travel across the globe to see him, Keane returned to Ireland in 2022, without an expectation of resuming his AFL career.

But fast forward a year and the 23-year-old’s Aussie rules career was not only revived after joining the Crows in January, but his proud Dad was finally able to see him play live.

When Keane was told he’d be making his Crows Club debut in the Round 20 Showdown, there were a few quick phone calls to be made.

“Muz had just got injured the week before - I was obviously heartbroken for Muz,” Keane said.

“But then we had our main training on the Wednesday and Nicksy gave me a call afterwards and told me I’d be making my Club debut, which was amazing.

“I got on the phone pretty quick and got my partner and Dad over.

“It was the first time Dad had watched me play AFL live - he didn’t come over for my debut at Collingwood because of Covid, so it was so special to have Dad there.”

Keane’s debut was sealed with a win, making it even more memorable for his family.

"It was so special to have Dad there.

“I came back after 18 months out of the game and to then make my debut after five or six months of being back was great - I didn’t think it was going to happen that quickly,” Keane said.

“Making my Club debut in a Showdown was manic.

“Not being from SA, I had never really known about Showdowns until I came over to Adelaide.

“Getting the win was just absolutely super because I never played in a win at Collingwood and sharing it with Dad and my partner was amazing.”

Keane’s journey to Adelaide has been unconventional.

After playing five games in three years for the Magpies from 2019 to 2021, Keane decided to remain in Ireland in 2022, despite being contracted to Collingwood.

Settling back into his former life was seamless for Keane.

He returned to hurling - one of Ireland’s native Gaelic games - and won an All-Ireland junior club hurling medal a week before signing with the Crows.

But when an opportunity to revive his AFL career with the Crows came up, it was one too good to pass up.

This was despite knowing he would need to go back to basics and almost learn the Australian Rules game from scratch.

“I’ve loved it and I’m happy I came back,” Keane said.

“I haven’t had an off-season or a pre-season this year, as I came out six weeks before the season started.

“I’ve had to learn the art of defending again. Going back to hurling and Gaelic football, I kind of lost all the rules of Australian football.

“It took me a bit to learn it all but I’ll definitely take a lot into this off-season and pre-season to bring my game to a new level.”

Keane went on to play every game after his debut, averaging 13.4 disposals and 3.2 intercept marks across five games.

His form was soon rewarded with a two-year contract extension - something Keane refuses to take for granted.

“I am absolutely delighted for the Club to back me in for another two years,” Keane said.

“My partner is moving over in December as well, which is good.

“In the off-season and pre-season I want to work on my fitness and fundamentals of the game and be able to take my contest work to a new level.

“I am looking forward to having a proper pre-season to set me up for a good year, hopefully.”