With new faces occupying a quarter of the senior list, Adelaide is preparing to open a new chapter in the club’s history.

The Crows’ 2007 NAB AFL draftees will be responsible for writing much of that history, but in the meantime, they’re writing for afc.com.au.

Over the coming months Adelaide’s newest recruits will share their thoughts and experiences, exclusive to afc.com.au, as they settle into life as AFL players.

JUST as the draftees were beginning to feel comfortable with life at a new club and, for some, in a new city, they’ve once again found themselves in foreign territory.

The youngest Crows call West Lakes home from Monday to Friday, but most of the 2007 draftees’ actual game time will take place on Saturdays with their designated SANFL clubs. 

Upon their arrival in Adelaide the club’s interstate draftees Patrick Dangerfield (West Adelaide), Andy Otten (South Adelaide), Jarrhan Jacky (Woodville-West Torrens), Myke Cook (South Adelaide), Tony Armstrong (North Adelaide), Aaron Kite (Norwood), Taylor Walker (Norwood) and Ed Curnow (Glenelg) threw their names into the ring for what’s known as the SANFL ‘mini-draft’.

The SANFL clubs take turns selecting AFL-listed players from both Adelaide and Port Adelaide and this determines where a draftee will play the majority of their football in their first year of AFL.

Over the past month the draftees have experienced a hasty introduction to life in the SANFL.

Andy Otten writes:
I played an intra-club trial with South two weeks ago and then a full-scale trial last week. It was hard going there and not knowing anyone. I was just calling out and clapping my hands for the ball because I didn’t know anyone’s name. It probably looked quite funny.

David Mackay is a South player, but he played for the Crows that first weekend, so he obviously wasn’t there and Myke Cook, who is also aligned to South, had a hamstring injury, so it was just me.

I’d met Jack Cahill, the coach, before so I just sat with him for a while. Then I went off and got changed by myself because I didn’t know anyone. I had to learn the warm-up and the routine because it was completely different to what I’ve become used to here at Adelaide.

I didn’t really know what I was doing out on the field and I didn’t play too well, so that’s probably why. I played on-ball, so Jack put me in the position I usually play, but I didn’t know where to run or who to call. My head was just spinning.

Tony Armstrong (North Adelaide) writes:
I’ve played a couple of trials with North Adelaide now. It was a little bit tough going there for the first time because you’ve just learned all the names and faces here at the Crows and then you’re out to another new club, but all the boys have been really nice and welcoming.

It was pretty funny in my first game especially because I was just calling everyone ‘mate’, ‘buddy, ‘pal’- all that sort of stuff because I didn’t know everyone’s name.

I did know Marlon Motlop and the Campbell boys, who are two other young guys out with North Adelaide, so that helped a bit.

Andy Otten writes:
I didn’t know anything about South Adelaide before I came over to Adelaide. In Victoria we hear that the SANFL is a strong competition, but you don’t really hear much about the actual teams in the league.

All I knew about South Adelaide was that it was far away.

But the local boys at the Crows help fill you in on which teams and players are good and what not and all the North and Centrals boys talk themselves up. There’s a bit of competition about it among the boys.

Tony Armstrong writes:
I didn’t even know there was a club called North Adelaide before I came over, but it seems like a good place and I really like it so far.

Before the mini-draft the boys were all talking and I found out that North had been pretty successful in the past few years, so perhaps we can have a win this year instead of losing in the grand final.

There are only a few team rules out at North and Jars [coach Andrew Jarman] encourages guys just to go out and play footy. Here at Adelaide there are a lot of structures and roles, which is good, but they are two very different styles of footy.

You just have to do what the coach asks wherever you are playing.