Adelaide’s development squad is ticking the right boxes for SANFL coach Heath Younie.
The Crows have used seven of their “top-up” players in the first three rounds and also had three of the group reclaimed by their SANFL clubs, which Younie says is a sign of the program’s success.
Regional-based recruits Tyson Davis-Neale and Matt Thompson have played in the first three games and the Crows have also called on Adelaide Uni pair Will Paynter and George Hurley-Wellington, Glenelg’s Darcy Bailey, Gene Robinson (Mypolonga) and Sam Pfeiffer (Murray Bridge Ramblers).
Additionally, Jack Penfold (Sturt), Tom Muir (Glenelg) and Sam De Leonardis (North) have played league football. De Leonardis was last round’s winner of the SANFL’s Star Search award after an impressive debut with the Roosters.
“For the ones who have had an opportunity to play, it takes some time to adapt to the tempo of league footy. But you can certainly see the improvement in them the more they are involved and learn their roles.
“Tyson has been in our bes
t players in two of the three games and Matt Thompson is growing in confidence and has done some important jobs for us in defence.
“The weekend was probably the first time we could easily sit back and say they didn’t look out of place at all. Matt Thompson just gets better each week. Matt and Tyson can play footy, there’s no mistake about that. They are former AIS-AFL scholarship holders from 4-5 years ago. They’re picking up the speed of the game and are going to be really important players for us.
“Gene came in (last Saturday) after kicking 12 the previous two weeks in the country. He could’ve had two or three goals on the weekend. The more he plays, the better he’ll adapt to the speed of the game. He’ll be a very good player at SANFL level.”
Younie said the overall objective of the development group was to help each of the players improve so that wherever they are playing, they are becoming better footballers.
“With the players we have included in the side, the work we put into them and the feedback they receive from our development coaches goes up another level so that we give them every opportunity to succeed and fit into our system,” he said. “They do recovery, look at edits of their games with our coaches and have regular contact”
Davis-Neale and Thompson were both in the AIS/AFL Academy in 2008 but drifted away from the SANFL. Davis-Neale, a former South Adelaide junior, played in a premiership with Encounter Bay last year alongside former Crows Scott Welsh and Ian Perrie, while Thompson has starred for the Murray Bridge Ramblers.
Younie is not concerned at losing development squad players back to their SANFL clubs.
“It’s fantastic for those kids and their footy clubs,” he said. “Once one of our development players from an SANFL club plays a league game for their club, we no longer see them. It sounds all doom and gloom, but personally I think it’s fantastic that we’ve played a small part in helping their development.
“I’m just rapt for Jack Penfold, Tom Muir and, especially, Sam De Leonardis, who I’ve had a lot to do with. I coached Sam in the North Adelaide Under-18s two years ago. He’s a fantastic kid and just needed a bit of a push along. He made his debut for North on the weekend and was nominated for the Star Search award in his first game. It’s a credit to him and I’m really proud of him.”
