He enjoyed a breakout season and was Adelaide’s second-best goalkicker last year, but Josh Jenkins says he wants to give away more majors in Season 2015.
Jenkins, 26, booted 40 goals and ranked third at the Crows for total scoreboard impact last season.
However, the 198cm forward ranked only 10th at the Club for goal assists despite notching 20 consecutive games from Round Three onwards.
Leading goalkicker Eddie Betts was Adelaide’s runaway leader in the statistic, and Jenkins said he hopes to model more of his game on his livewire teammate.
“I’d love to have some more direct goal assists this year and try and setup my teammates,” Jenkins said on radio station FIVEaa.
“Eddie gives a lot (of goals) to me, so I’d really love to be able to give Eddie some back this year.
“There’s a lot of ways that you can be involved in scoring chains now. It can even start in defence from a kick out.”
“You can always be involved. I’ll be keeping a close eye on how many assists I can chalk up.”
Jenkins’ unselfish endeavour fits in perfect alignment with Phil Walsh’s team-first philosophy, as does the athletic tall’s ability to play in a variety of positions.
Walsh believes players must show versatility to thrive in the modern game.
Jenkins showed promise as a tall defender in patches last year and he revealed that he’s continued to train with Adelaide’s backs at times this pre-season.
“It’s something the coaches have always got their eye on,” he said.
“We’re obviously a little bit shallow down there so between myself, ‘Pods’ and Tommy Lynch a little bit as well we try and go behind the ball and play in defence every now and then because you just never know what can pop up.”
Jenkins’ presence could prove handy down back given defenders Andy Otten (knee), Sam Shaw (hamstring) and Brent Reilly (skull) face lengthy stints on the sidelines.
He also said he’s eager to continue improving his craft as a pinch-hitting ruckman.
“Ruckwork is obviously something that I need to keep trying to chip away at,”
“I’m giving away a bit of size and a bit of reach to a lot of these big ruckmen, but I’ve got some other assets which I can try and counter them with.”
Jenkins said he’s worked hard with lead ruckman Sam Jacobs and assistant coach Matthew Clarke to improve his impact around the stoppages.
“I’ve done some close work with ‘Sauce’. ‘Doc’ Clarke has given me some help there too.”
“Those are the main areas that I’ll try and focus on, especially throughout the NAB (Challenge).”
Adelaide will fly to Port Lincoln on Saturday ahead of the Club’s opening NAB Challenge match against North Melbourne on March 1.
Jenkins confirmed he would be a likely starter, with Adelaide’s final 26-man side to be named on game day.
He said the entire playing group was looking forward to a competitive hit-out against last year’s preliminary finalists.
“We’ve all had enough of banging and crashing into each other at training,” he said.
“It’s time to get out there and test ourselves against an opposition.”
The match will also be Taylor Walker’s first official outing as captain of the Crows.
“It’ll be so exciting for everyone involved at the Club,” Jenkins said.
“It’s a sellout crowd … (and) it’ll be great for ‘Tex’ to lead out the side in his first appearance as skipper.”
