New Crow Paul Seedsman hopes his first full pre-season in three years will help him to become a “permanent fixture” in Adelaide’s best 22 next year.
Seedsman, 23, joined the Crows from Collingwood in October’s AFL Trade Period. The line-breaking half-back/wingman played 49 AFL games for the Magpies after making his debut in 2012.
He made a strong start to the 2015 season playing 10 of Collingwood's first 12 games, most notably winning the Anzac Medal for his 31-possession, best-on-ground performance against Essendon in Round Four. However, Seedsman struggled for opportunities in the second half of the season and finished the year in the VFL.
The long-kicking recruit said he was looking forward to a “fresh start”.
“I had a few inconsistencies (this season). I was in and out of the team and couldn’t really cement a spot, which is something that I’ll work on this pre-season,” Seedsman said.
“I want to break into that 22 and become a permanent fixture in the team. (But) it’s a strong club over here and a strong team.
“I’m going to have to have a big pre-season and, hopefully, I can add to the team. Team success is more important and I just hope to play a role in that.”
Seedsman is one of 10 new players in the Crows squad for Season 2016.
The former Eastern Ranges junior completed his first full training session with the group on Monday and was keen to impress his new coaches and teammates.
“By moving to a new club, you start from scratch,” he said.
“It can be a positive and a negative. You’ve just got to put the hard work in, earn the respect of the playing group and move forward from there.”
Seedsman was targeted by the Crows, who identified a need for players with outside run and neat foot skills during the trade period.
Seedsman was confident his skill set could compliment the Adelaide team.
“I’ll play whichever role ‘Pykey’ (coach Don Pyke) wants me to play,” he said.
“We’ve spoken about playing on the wing, predominantly, and then being able to push forward or back. We’ll wait and see when we get into more match simulation where I fit in.”
Seedsman, who was courted by several clubs, said Adelaide was a good fit for him off the field as well.
“It’s obviously a great organisation. The Club is well run, both on the football side and the administration,” he said.
“In the presentation that ‘Nobes’ (Head of Football David Noble), (National Recruiting Manager) Hamish (Ogilvie) and ‘Reidy’ (GM List Management and Strategy Justin Reid) put forward to me, we had similar values and it just seemed like a great fit.
“Also, the way they played last year with all the adversity shows great signs of the strength of this group and the culture. It was something I was really keen to get involved in.
“In the next couple of years, there’s a window of opportunity for success for the team.”
