Adelaide’s playing group were put through an intense match simulation on Saturday morning, one week out from their Round Two Showdown at Adelaide Oval.
The session, which ran for over two hours, had all but one Crow take part with Riley Knight (Achilles) left watching on.
Despite being on the sidelines, Knight provided plenty of encouragement and feedback to the likes of Shane McAdam, Ronin O’Connor and Kieran Strachan, with one call from Knight helping to protect against a switch of play.
Here are our other key takeouts from the session.
Team selection for Round Two became tougher
Senior coach Matthew Nicks told AFC Media post-session the task of settling on a best 22 to face Port Adelaide had become tougher after Saturday’s match sim.
Teenage defender Fischer McAsey continued to show composure well beyond his years, but competition for spots in the back six is tight with Tom Doedee, Kyle Hartigan and Jordon Butts all pressing their claims for a Round Two berth.
At the other end of the ground, Taylor Walker booted two goals and took a large portion of the ruck duties inside forward 50. Nicks may opt to use Walker as a sole backup to Reilly O’Brien, or he could go with one of Billy Frampton or Elliott Himmelberg to provide centre square minutes against a strong Power ruck division.
Ned McHenry was ferocious when the Sherrin was in the vicinity while rookies Ben Keays and Ben Crocker did their chances of Club debuts no harm.
There were also some positive signs from emerging young players including Lachlan Sholl and Harry Schoenberg.
Seeking out the contest
Seeking out the contest was one of Matthew Nicks’ key themes over the pre-season. But in Round One, the Crows were smashed by Sydney at the stoppages and scored heavily on from turnovers.
During Saturday’s match sim, there seemed to be a bigger focus on defensive work, from structures to tackling pressure.
At almost every stoppage, the ball winner was quickly set upon by his opposition, and the likes of Lachlan Murphy, Ben Keays and Ned McHenry thrived in pressuring defenders inside forward 50.
Social distancing is at the forefront
One of the more fascinating elements of Saturday’s match sim was the AFL COVID-19 protocols and SA Government legislation being implemented during the training session.
Player arrivals were staggered into smaller groups, entering the ground in a set order via designated entry points, while social distancing was of paramount importance.
Shouts of “1.5, 1.5” were heard repeatedly throughout the morning and at the conclusion of the match sim, groups were held back on the oval in a methodical fashion as an order of exit was strictly observed.
