Recruits Tim McIntyre, Tom Lynch, Brad Crouch and Sam Kerridge have pressed their claims for selection in the opening round of the NAB Cup, impressing in Adelaide’s intra-club trial at AAMI Stadium on Wednesday.
Ex-St Kilda forward Lynch (four goals) and mature-age rookie McIntyre (three) combined to kick seven of the Crows ‘away’ team’s 10 goals, while Crouch and Kerridge both found plenty of the ball when released into the midfield.
Taken by Adelaide in the ‘mini-draft’ of eligible 17-year-olds in October, Crouch is unable to play AFL until 2013 but has been granted special permission to play in the 2012 NAB Cup, which kicks off in Melbourne on Friday night.
Coach Brenton Sanderson said he was pleased with what he saw from Crouch and a number of other new Crows on Wednesday.
“’Crouchy’ is the most frustrating one because he was outstanding today,” Sanderson said.
“He’s going to play some NAB Cup, but we’d love to be able to play him early in the season proper.
“Timmy Mac (McIntyre) was everywhere and easily could’ve kicked a couple more goals.
“I think one of his three goals would’ve been classed as a ‘super goal’ under NAB Cup rules.
“Lynch got a couple of goals over the top, but he presented well and ended up with four goals in the book, and Sammy Kerridge did some nice things particularly in the second half.”
Rookie McIntyre must be promoted to the senior list to be eligible for selection in the season proper.
As it stands, the Crows are able to elevate one rookie to play as early as round one and Sanderson said there was strong competition for the vacant spot.
“We’ve got some good depth even in our rookie list,” he said.
“McIntyre was good today.
“We’ve seen a bit of what Ian Callinan can do and I thought Will Young played well today as well.
“James Craig was okay when he went into the ruck and Rory Laird was okay down back, so there's some pressure."
Untried second-year player Jarryd Lyons also showed promise on Wednesday, kicking two goals for the Crows ‘home’ team, while Ricky Henderson and Aidan Riley impressed in different positions.
Sanderson was also pleased with the form of consistent contributors Michael Doughty, Rory Sloane, Richard Douglas and Brent Reilly.
Seasoned campaigners Nathan van Berlo, Scott Thompson, Kurt Tippett, Patrick Dangerfield and Sam Jacobs were rested in the second half to create more opportunities for the Club’s young players.
“Those guys haven’t really missed much of the summer and will see a fair bit of game time in the NAB Cup,” Sanderson said.
“We wanted to give the younger boys a bit more of a taste in midfield roles rather than playing at half-back or half-forward.”
The final score saw Mark Bickley’s ‘home’ team defeat Scott Camporeale’s ‘away’ team by 11 points, 12.6 (78) to 10.7 (67).
Sanderson said the hit-out was a good warm-up for the Club’s first-round of NAB Cup matches against Carlton and Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on February 26.
“I thought it was a good hit-out particularly the first half when the skills were really up and we also came out of the game with no injuries,” he said.
“It’s hard to judge because it was Adelaide versus Adelaide,
“We’re looking forward to heading to Berri for our Community Camp tomorrow and then the boys will have the weekend off before launching into it on Monday.
“Those games against Carlton and Port Adelaide next weekend will be a good chance to see where we’re at and we hope all our members and supporters can come along to AAMI Stadium to watch the players in action for the first time this year.”
Adelaide’s next open main training session will be on Tuesday from about 9:45am at Max Basheer Reserve.
HOME: 4.3 8.5 10.5 12.6 (78)
AWAY: 2.1 5.2 8.5 10.7 (67)
GOALS
HOME: Petrenko 2, Lyons 2, Wright, Tippett, Crouch, Riley, Walker, Henderson, Jacobs, Tambling
AWAY: Lynch 4, McIntyre 3, McKernan 2, Douglas
As the Crows prepare for upcoming season, click here to browse 2012 membership and join the Club from only $75 (Adult) and $45 junior
