Adelaide has added local players Mitch Grigg, Nick Joyce and Cameron Ellis-Yolmen, as well as Bendigo Pioneers midfielder Sam Kerridge to its stocks at the 2011 AFL Draft in Western Sydney on Thursday night.
The Crows used their first pick at No.27 to select 18-year-old Kerridge.
The inside onballer excels at stoppages, using his strong 188cm, 82kg, frame to win the ball and then his burst of speed and penetrating kick to clear the congestion.
Kerridge is also a strong overhead mark and accurate shot at goal, making him a dangerous player to match-up on in the forward line.
He excelled in the endurance events at the AFL Combine, finishing fourth in both the shuttle run (beep test) and 3km-time trial.
Kerridge moved away from his family and friends in Mildura to Bendigo as a 16-year-old to further his football development with the Pioneers in the TAC Cup.
He sat out most of the 2010 season with a bout of osteitis pubis, but showed resilience to recover and be a standout in the struggling Pioneers team this year.
A graduate of the AIS-AFL Academy, Kerridge has a strong work ethic and leadership qualities.
Tipped to be a first-round selection midway through the season, Grigg slipped through to the Crows' second pick at No.41.
The 182cm, 82kg midfielder from Norwood was voted South Australlia's most valuable player at the Under-18 Championships in June.
The 18-year-old is an elite left-foot kick and represented the Redlegs at League level in the latter part of the year.
Joyce, also 18, is well known to the Crows, having been employed as a community development trainee at West Lakes this year.
From Woodville-West Torrens, the 184cm, 77kg, midfielder/defender was selected to represent SA at the Under-18 Championships, but injured his shoulder in the lead-up and missed the second half of the season after having surgery.
Rather than saving a pick for December's pre-season draft, Adelaide used selection No.64 to secure the exciting Ellis-Yolman.
The 18-year-old of Aboriginal and Papua New Guinean heritage has been likened to dual Brownlow Medallist Adam Goodes because of his freakish athleticism, and was deserving of a first-round draft pick according to SA talent manager Brenton Phillips.
At 189cm and 91kg, Ellis-Yolman is an imposing midfielder.
His football career hit a roadblock in 2009 when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing for Flinders Park in the SA Amateur Football League, but he fought back and finished this season with the Eagles reserves.
The Crows had already bolstered their midfield stocks prior to the national draft, welcoming promising teenagers Brad Crouch and Luke Brown to the club in trade week.
