ADELAIDE rookie Aidan Riley has experienced an exciting but frustrating month since being promoted to the senior list in May.

Riley was on the verge of making his AFL debut in the same week he replaced injured defender Phil Davis on the primary list, being named as an emergency for the Crows' clash with Collingwood in round nine.

Promoted rookie Matt Wright was in serious doubt with a knee injury, and a cloud also lingered over the fitness of forward Ricky Henderson, but both players passed fitness tests and Riley watched the game from the stands at Etihad Stadium.

The 19-year-old has been named as an emergency for three of the four games since, twice being barred from playing in the SANFL to remain on stand-by for the Crows.

He loved the experience of being part of Adelaide's interstate travel party, "staying in a hotel" and having "all that food" provided for him, but not being able to play football at any level for a fortnight frustrated him and he struggled to adapt to being back at SANFL club Sturt the next week.

In the past fortnight, he's worked on overcoming his interrupted preparation.

Last week, Riley flew to Melbourne as an emergency for the Crows' clash with the Western Bulldogs, and when he wasn't required returned to Adelaide to kick two goals for the Double Blues on Saturday.

The uncompromising midfielder is also learning to be patient.

The irresistible form of 28-year-old rookie Ian Callinan, who amassed 30 possessions for Central District last weekend, might delay his AFL debut further, but he knows his turn will come and that his wait will be nothing compared to Callinan's.

"I'm as excited as ever because I know I'm getting close," Riley told afc.com.au.

"If you're a travelling emergency you know you're around the mark. The challenge for me now is to keep putting myself on show in the SANFL and hopefully that form gets me a spot in the team."

When Riley does finally make his AFL debut it will be reward for a tough six months.

After retaining his spot on the Crows' rookie list at the end of last year, the former NSW scholarship holder was committed to returning for the start of pre-season training in peak shape.

He trained almost every day of his post-season break, roping in mates at home in Wollongong to train with him.

He achieved his goal of returning to Adelaide in excellent physical condition, but broke down not long after arriving back at the club.

Riley missed two months before Christmas with a back complaint and then developed hip and groin soreness, which prevented him from playing in the pre-season competition.

To make matters worse, he required treatment for a burn to his arm after being involved in a car accident while dropping housemate and star Crows forward Kurt Tippett at the airport ahead of the club's pre-season clash with Carlton at Visy Park.

"The car crash is a bit taboo. Kurt and I don't really talk about it around the house any more," he said with a laugh.

"Unfortunately, I rear-ended another car and my car was written off.

"Tippo is okay to drive with me around the streets, but he won't let me take him to the airport any more."

Riley has displayed good form for Sturt since overcoming his injuries and has also transformed himself from a half-back flanker to a goalkicking midfielder.

The competitive onballer suffers from the same affliction as teammate Patrick Dangerfield, in the sense that most of his possessions are contested and - like Dangerfield - he's been instructed to try and win more of the 'easy' ball.

One area of Riley's game that will never change, though, is his tackling.

In an SANFL game two weeks ago, he laid an impressive 11 tackles and is renowned at West Lakes for his aggression.

"Growing up in Wollongong, which has a strong rugby background, my brother and I would always play footy in the backyard and tackle each other and I played a little bit of rugby league and rugby union at school," he said.

"I pride myself on my tackling and I hate it when someone gets away from me."