A statistical snapshot of Adelaide’s squad as we close in on the 2017 season…
Consecutive games
Eddie Betts has played the most consecutive games of any current Crow after assuming the mantle from reliable ruckman Sam Jacobs late last season.
Jacobs’ phenomenal streak of 93 games ended after an ankle injury forced him onto the sidelines for two matches late in Season 2016.
Incredibly, Betts is yet to miss a match since joining the Club and has played 83 games straight. The livewire goalkicker is ranked fifth among all current AFL players in the statistic, behind only North Melbourne’s Sam Gibson (108), Sydney’s Dane Rampe (97), Melbourne captain Nathan Jones (97) and former teammate and new Cat Zach Tuohy (90).
Fellow forward Josh Jenkins is the next Crow in line with 40 consecutive matches, ahead of two-time All Australian defender Daniel Talia (32).
Age (by Round One)
The bulk of Adelaide’s squad is aged between 20-25, with 25 of the Club’s 44 players within the age bracket come Round One.
Several key players are among the group, including defenders Daniel Talia, Brodie Smith, Luke Brown, Jake Lever and Rory Laird, midfielders Brad Crouch, Matt Crouch and Rory Atkins, and goalkickers Mitch McGovern, Charlie Cameron and Riley Knight.
Five of Adelaide’s six draftees are 18-year-olds. Ben Davis is the eldest of the Club’s new additions and joins Wayne Milera Junior as the only other 19-year-old in the squad.
Adelaide will have no 29-year-olds on its list after Richard Douglas’ 30th birthday in early February.
Scott Thompson is the Club’s oldest player and will turn 34 two weeks before Adelaide’s Round One clash with Greater Western Sydney.
Draftee Matthew Signorello is Adelaide’s youngest listed player at 18 years and four months by Round One.
Age in years & number of players
AFL games played
Adelaide’s list has great potential for development with 26 Crows yet to play 50 AFL games.
Fourteen Crows are still to make their AFL debut, including the Club’s six draftees, while 12 players, including Charlie Cameron, the Crouch brothers, Jake Lever, Rory Atkins and Mitch McGovern, are yet to play their 50th game.
Scott Thompson (307) and Eddie Betts (253) are by far the most experienced AFL performers, while Richard Douglas is just five games away from joining the 200-game club.
Captain Taylor Walker and fellow leaders Rory Sloane, Daniel Talia, Brodie Smith and Sam Jacobs, who could play his 150th game in Round One, are all in close company in the 100-150 game range.
Career goals
Three-time Crows leading goalkicker Eddie Betts is the Club’s most prolific scorer heading into Season 2017.
Betts has booted 479 goals, including 189 in his three seasons as a Crow, to head the overall goals tally in this year’s squad.
Taylor Walker is ranked second all-time at the Club for goals kicked by a Crow (303) behind record-holder Tony Modra (440).
Josh Jenkins (183), Scott Thompson (162) and Richard Douglas (133) round out the top five.
Weight and Height
Josh Jenkins remains Adelaide’s heaviest player, tipping the scales at 108kg.
Several Crows have added significant mass with key forward Harry Dear now the second-heaviest Crow at 104kg after adding six kilograms to his frame.
Alex Keath (97kg), Jake Lever (93kg), and Tom Doedee (87kg) have also bulked up notably since last summer.
Five Crows in Jenkins, Dear, Reilly O’Brien, Sam Jacobs and Paul Hunter, are 100kg or heavier.
Ben Jarman (69kg) is now the Club’s lightest player, taking the title from fellow small forward Eddie Betts (73kg). Jarman is also Adelaide shortest player at 174cm.
O’Brien has added a centimetre to his frame to join Jacobs at 202cm as the Club’s tallest duo.
