Bickley’s five players to watch during internal trial

Adelaide two-time Premiership Captain and Port Pirie product Mark Bickley is returning to his hometown to commentate the Crows’ internal trial, alongside AFLW Co-Captain Ebony Marinoff on Friday afternoon.

The match forms part of the Crows’ pre-season preparations ahead of their 2025 campaign starting next month.

Ahead of the game, Bickley has spoken to AFC Media on the players he believes are ones to watch.

Riley Thilthorpe

“Riley is an obvious one. He continues to get bigger and stronger. He only played seven games last year due to an injury, but there were glimpses against Geelong and St Kilda where he was really dominant.

“I’d love to see him do that consistently in games and take those contested marks and be a real target up-forward.”

Sid Draper

“Sid will be one to watch in terms of what he can provide. I don’t think we are expecting Sid to dominate the competition… but you want to see glimpses of what he can do.

"Everyone is keen to see what sort of impact he can have.”

James Peatling

“I think James Peatling is someone everyone is interested in having a look at - his training form looks to have been really strong.

“I reckon with his last six games (for GWS) last year and his finals performances, it looked like he was ready to take the next step and become a really good AFL player.

“Adding him to the midfield gives us a little bit of grunt around the ball.”

Wayne Milera

“Wayne is back from injury, he missed all of last year, but he’s such an important player with his ball use and his evasion and what he can bring to the team.

“He’s just had such a wretched run with injuries, so everyone has their fingers crossed that he can have an uninterrupted season and we can see him reach his full potential.”

Dan Curtin

“Dan is another one to keep an eye on. I’ve seen some really nice highlights of Dan from some of the training sessions.

“There’s some intrigue to see where he plays - does he play down back, does he play through the middle of the ground, does he play up-forward, or does he play a combination?

“He looks like a real hybrid player, so I am interested to see what plans Nicksy and the Adelaide Footy Club have for Dan this year."

Adelaide’s players will travel to Port Pirie on Thursday, spending two days in the town, as part of the AFL’s 2025 Community Camp program.

The Crows’ 2025 Community Camp will culminate with an internal trial game at Memorial Oval from 4.30pm and a post-match signing session from approximately 6.50pm.

“Growing up in the country, you don’t get the opportunity to see your heroes up close,’ Bickley said.