Adelaide Crows - A Look Ahead to Season 2026

From the high’s of being the minor premiers to the lows of going out in straight sets it has been an offseason with limited movement for them but a few pieces coming in that will make an impact to their starting lineup and a lot of the outs not being required anymore 

Offseason In’s/Out’s 

IN – Callum Ah Chee (Draft), Indy Cotton (Cat B Rookie), Archie Ludowyke (Draft), Finnbar Maley (Trade) and Mitchell Marsh (Draft) 

OUT – Chris Burgess (Delisted), Matt “Crouch Potato” Crouch (Retired), Karl Gallagher (Delisted), Lachie Murphy (Delisted), Harry Schoenberg (Delisted), Brodie Smith (Retired) and Kieran Strachan (Delisted) 

Offseason summary – A lot of cleaning of house with ageing names like Burgess, Crouch and Smith moving out of the lineup with an influx of youth coming into the team will help extend the premiership window. The incoming of Cotton, Ludowyke and Marsh will add future to their lineup with no direct path into the sides for any of them 

Predicted Lineup 

B – Worrall, Keane, Murray 

HB – Millera, Hinge, Laird 

C – Cumming, Dawson, Curtin 

HF – Keaysus, Thilthorpe, Rankine 

F – Rachele, Walker, Fogarty 

FOLL – ROB, Peatling, Soligo 

I/C - Ah Chee, Michalanney, ANB, Pedlar, Draper 

Defender Review – Overall the defense at Adelaide was great last year conceding only 23.2 (AFL AVG 25.3) and opposition accuracy at goal only 44.7% (AFL AVG 48.4) showing that they were one of the most underrated defensive teams without having any of the big name defenders. If it ain’t broke, don't fix it is the best methodology to use with Adelaide’s defense last year and there would be no reason we should expect them to have any different of a year 

Midfield Review – Thank fuck the Crouch Potato is officially gone and now Horse can finally rid him of the nightmares he has. One a positive note the anchor of Dawson in the middle with the growing experience of Soligo and Peatling coming along they should expect to have an uptick in output here but are probably lacking polish through their midfield resulting in a lower efficiency 

Forward Line Review – The 3 headed monster that they have created out at Adelaide is something to behold with Walker, Thriller and Fogarty all being elite key forwards while sharing the space well between each other means that any one of them could go for 5+ goals on any given night. The forward line doesn't get any easier when it hits the ground and you have Rankine, Rachele and Keaysus crumbing the ball and being elite goal kickers themselves with 5+ goal upside there too. This Adelaide team isn't a question of if someone will kick 5 goals, its just a matter of which one is getting of the chain tonight 

Players to Break In 

• Jordan Butts – Going down with a punctured lung halfway through 2025 and then not make the selection back in the team is tough. He couldn't find a new home over the offseason but expect him to make a hard push to find a way back into this defence 

• Sam Berry – Midfield “Mr Fix-it" for Adelaide goes not further than Sam Berry who played a total of 19/25 games last year for Adelaide and will float in and out of the team throughout next year but 

• Billy Dowling – Ohh what could have been for young Billy a few years ago. With a very hot 2024 season run to the end of the year but only 1 2025 game look for him to be a big watch throughout the preseason to force his head into this midfield lineup if he can find the room 

2026 Predictions 

Ceiling – 17-6 (2nd) 

Floor – 13-10 (8th) 

With as much talent as they have got and their attitude to run it back again in 2026 with no major changes is a big call I believe last year’s 18-5 record was exceeding all expectations and I am expecting them to be playing in September but as either the 6th or 7th team and with the new finals format of the wildcard weekend it will be all the more important to be the higher end of that!

• Flanders