Adelaide’s inaugural 1991 squad, finalised just a fortnight before the Club’s first game for premiership points, holds an important place in our history.
Recruited from the ten SANFL clubs or enticed home to South Australia from interstate clubs, the 52 players were pulled together over the summer of 1990-91 as the Adelaide Football Club prepared for its entry to the national competition.
This is the third of a series to recognise the players’ role in the first year of the Adelaide Football Club.
 
Rod Jameson
Guernsey number: 35
Crows debut: Round 1 v Hawthorn, 1991.
AFC games: 153. AFC goals: 113.
Recruited from: Glenelg (SANFL)
DOB: June 30, 1970
Original squad selection 1991.
 
From full forward to full back, Rod Jameson made his mark with the Adelaide Crows.
It was as a midfielder that Jameson first made his name with SANFL club Glenelg, where he played 45 games before the arrival of the Adelaide Football Club stopped him from joining North Melbourne. He came off the bench in Adelaide’s first game against Hawthorn but then settled into a key forward role and was the club’s leading goalkicker in its first season. His tally of 49 goals included a career-best bag of eight goals against North Melbourne in the last minor round and he kicked a goal after the siren in round 12 to defeat Fitzroy. But Jameson struggled through his second season and by 1993 he was spending more time at the other end of the ground taking on some of the competition’s gun forwards. He was at full back in the 1997 grand final until tearing a hamstring before the first break. Jameson struggled with some leg injuries in his last couple of years at AFL level and he was only 29 when he retired at the end of the 1999 season with 153 games to his name. In his last game, also a farewell for team-mate Matthew Liptak and coach Malcolm Blight, Jameson found time for a drop kick.
 
Andrew Jarman
Guernsey number: 2.
Crows debut: Round 1 v Hawthorn, 1991.
AFC games: 110 AFC goals: 92.
Recruited from: North Adelaide (SANFL).
DOB: January 14, 1966.
Original squad selection 1991.
 
He was only 24 when the Adelaide Football Club pieced together its training squad but Andrew Jarman already had a football resume ranked with the best in the SANFL.
One of the most gifted midfielders of his time, Jarman had won a Magarey Medal, two club best-and-fairests, a premiership, All Australian selection (twice) on the back of outstanding performances for South Australia, and played in 196 games at North Adelaide and Norwood. He shared his first AFL game with young brother Darren but only one of them celebrated a win - Darren had signed with Hawthorn. Andrew was an important player in Adelaide’s early years. Creative with his hands and damaging by foot, he played 110 games in six seasons with the Crows. He was runner-up to Matt Connell in the 1995 club champion award. Brother Darren returned to SA to play for the Crows in 1996 but the reunion was shortlived. Andrew spent some time back in the SANFL and then was one of several senior players moved on when Malcolm Blight arrived as the new coach. Jarman returned to Norwood in 1997 for one final season in the SANFL and finished his playing career on a high. He won a second Magarey Medal, Norwood’s best-and-fairest award and a premiership medal. His coaching career started in 2004 at SANFL club North Adelaide and he was in this role for five years. The Roosters made the grand final in 2007, losing to Central District, but he departed at the end of the next season when the club slid to seventh. Then, in 2009, he moved to WA to coach Perth in the WAFL.
 
Matthew Kelly
Guernsey number: 42.
Crows debut: Round 16 v Hawthorn, 1991.
AFC games: 2. AFC goals: 0.
Recruited from: Norwood.
DOB: July 2, 1971.
Original squad selection 1991.
Kelly was a talented midfielder/flanker, however had his career restricted by serious knee injuries and was unable to reach his full potential. He nearly went to Collingwood at the end of 1990 but chose to stay in South Australia to join the Crows. Played one game in 1991 and one more the following year. His grandfather, Maurie Arbon, was a State footballer and 1949 premiership player with North Adelaide.
 John Klug
Guernsey number: 20.
Crows debut: Round 1 v Hawthorn, 1991.
AFC games: 26. AFC goals: 35.
Recruited from: Woodville.
DOB: September 28, 1965.
Original squad selection 1991.
Klug took some time to push through to the highest level but was an immediate success with the Crows. The clever centre half-forward played 30 reserves games for VFL club Richmond in 1984-85 but then returned to his home club Glenorchy before joining SANFL club Woodville in 1988. Club best and fairest in Woodville’s final season, Klug kicked four goals in Adelaide’s first game against Hawthorn in 1991 and played 20 games to finish 8th in the best-and-fairest. But he played only six games in 1992 before a serious infection following knee surgery ended his AFL career. Later coached in Queensland and then Tasmania.
Clayton Lamb
Guernsey number: 6.
Crows debut: Round 5 v West Coast, 1991.
AFC games: 1. AFC goals: 1.
Recruited from: Glenelg (SANFL).
DOB: July 1, 1964.
Original squad selection 1991.
It would be unfair to judge Lamb’s career on his time with Adelaide. Although he played only one game for the Crows, Lamb was a seasoned performer at SANFL level where the midfielder or half-forward played 174 games for West Adelaide, 23 for Glenelg and three for South Australia before Adelaide arrived on the scene.
 Scott Lee
Guernsey number: 13.
Crows debut: Round 1 v Hawthorn, 1991.
AFC games: 86. AFC goals: 11.
Recruited from: Hawthorn/Central District (SANFL).
DOB: March 5, 1963.
Original squad selection 1991.
Lee, who played one pre-season game in three seasons at Hawthorn before moving to South Australia in 1985, made the most of his second opportunity at the highest level after some consistent seasons for SANFL club Central District. A best-and-fairest winner in 1990, he became one of the Crows’ strongest and reliable defenders and was always an honest performer, mainly playing in the back pocket. Lee was rarely beaten; he was known around the club as ‘The Agitator” because of his ability to frustrate his opponents. For Central he played a total of 243 games, finishing in 2000.
 Bruce Lindner
Guernsey number: 9.
Crows debut: Round 1 v Hawthorn, 1991.
AFC games: 19. AFC goals: 28.
Recruited from: Geelong.
DOB: June 20, 1961.
Original squad selection 1991.
Lindner played 56 SANFL games for West Adelaide before spending six seasons at Geelong for 66 VFL games and 139 goals. He then joined Adelaide’s inaugural squad. Injuries restricted Lindner’s opportunities, preventing him from showing more of his flair in the forward line. He did not play any more football after breaking his leg in four places when he fell from a trail bike in 1993.
Next: The fourth part of this series will start with West Torrens champion Bruce Lindsay