Almanac Footy: Adelaide 2025 Season Preview

 

Oz Footy List Manager opens a look at the 2025 club lists with Adelaide.

 

List:

 

It is time to get excited at Adelaide as the fruits of evolution are taking place. Younger players are earning central roles in the team’s make up, while a solid depth is building across nearly all height and age ranges.

 

Disappointingly, a couple of ordinary Adelaide performers have been given second chances.

 

A few years ago, the Adelaide midfield was bare and the club was forced into moving defenders into the midfield. Now, the midfield has been built up sufficiently that midfielders can be regularly rotated – Rankine, Berry, Soligo, the workhorse Crouch, Sholl, Laird, Dawson, Jones, and now Neal-Bullen,  Peatling and Draper. In team selection, it now needs to share the midfield opportunities amongst its rising stars. Rachele should now be building himself into a rotational midfielder/forward.

 

The forward half has many options, and Walker can now share the load with a variety of tall, medium and small forwards.

 

The back half has excellent depth in its key position players, but does need to build its depth of quality intercepting flankers. This is where its lack of mature taller mediums (186-189cms) kicks in. Cumming should be a ‘walk-in’ onto one of the flanks. Maybe Neal-Bullen could be used as a back-flanker.

 

The rucks look good with O’Brien coming off a near career-best season. Thilthorpe averages 2 goals a game, as a forward/ruck. Strachan and the young Murray wait in the wings.

 

The major challenge will be to get full seasons out of their key players, like Worrell, Rankine, Thilthorpe, Milera, and the aging Crouch.

 

One would expect Adelaide to begin its rise this season.

 

Select 22:

 

The 2024 defence had very good intercepting talls, but its flankers lacked strength. I’d do a Zorko with Laird, and return him to defence. Young Borlase and Nankervis showed enough in the stats that they will grow as defensive flankers. Sholl could rotate midfield/defense too.

 

As said, the midfield squad is large enough, now, to be divided into rotating teams, with Crouch being just part of a rotation rather than carrying the whole load.

 

The forwards pick themselves, so does O’Brien as first ruckman. Neal-Bullen will have to earn a place. Adelaide is one team I can begin to get excited about.

 

 

Season 2025: Select 22

 

B: Laird, Worrell, Keane

HB: Cumming (new), Hinge, Nankervis

C: Dawson, Rankine, Milera

HF: Keays, Walker, Peatling (new)

F: Thilthorpe, Fogerty, Rachele

R: O’Brien, Berry, Soligo

I: Crouch, Michalanney, Sholl, Draper (new)

 

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