Brad Crouch says he’s relieved to get through his first official game in nearly nine months unscathed.
Crouch, 22, starred in Adelaide’s SANFL trial match against South Adelaide on Saturday.
The prolific midfielder played the majority of the game, gathering 40 possessions (30 handballs and 10 kicks) and nine clearances in his team’s four-point loss to South Adelaide.
A persistent foot injury sustained in Adelaide’s final NAB Challenge game last year prevented Crouch from playing any AFL matches in 2015.
Prior to Saturday’s trial, his most recent game was in the SANFL in June. The 2013 Rising Star runner-up was pleased to be back out on the park.
“It was good to be back playing footy again. I’ve missed it a lot,” Crouch said after the game.
“It was good to get a run under the belt. I’ve had enough of the training now and the pre-season. It’s a bit of a relief to get through the game.
“I pulled up really well. I didn’t really have any knocks at all … and I felt like I ran the game out decently. I feel really strong.”
The Crows match committee will now have to decide whether Crouch has done enough to earn a call-up for the Club’s season-opener against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on March 26.
Adelaide will have to leave out at least two players from the team of 24 that beat Gold Coast in the NAB Challenge clash at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.
Crouch said he would continue to push his case for selection at training in the coming fortnight.
“I’ve love to play, but it’s up to the coaches now,” he said.
“I’ve played two games including the internal game. I know the boys are going well at the moment in the AFL (team). They’ve played three reasonably good games and look really strong, so there’s a lot of competition for spots.
“I’ll do everything I can over the next two weeks and, hopefully, I get a chance.”
Crouch deprived himself of the opportunity to play in Adelaide’s final NAB Challenge hit-out against the Suns after failing to meet Adelaide’s elite preparation standards.
Crouch and teammate Rory Atkins, who were both named in the AFL squad earlier in the week, were made unavailable for senior selection as punishment. Crouch said the pair would learn from the situation.
“It was disappointing for both me and Rory. It was a little brain fade … and a mistake we both made,” he said.
“We got a bit of a hit and we’ve just had to deal with it. There’s nothing we can do about it now. It was a judgement error by both of us and we’ll learn from that.
“We know we let teammates down and our fans down, but we’ll get on with it now.”
