The green sub’s vest is in longer a worry for Jarryd Lyons but he concedes the high demand for AFL spots for round one will leave some Crows disappointed.  

Lyons, given the opportunity to appear in all three NAB Challenge games, presented a compelling case to hold his spot as a midfielder rotating through the forward line with a solid effort against Gold Coast Suns.

He had 22 disposals, five inside 50s, snapped the opening goal of the game and later showed composure to run through the middle of the ground towards an empty forward line, take a couple of bounces and then kick a nine-point goal.

Now in his fifth year with the Crows – the 23-year-old has played 35 games (15 starting as the sub) since making his AFL debut in 2012 – a strong summer has given Lyons the foundation to push hard for more opportunities.

“It’s probably my best pre-season so far, I haven’t missed anything,” he said.

“The first two games were okay but today was probably better in terms of building for round one. It was good … a good hit-out. It’s been a short but solid pre-season”

Adelaide used 24 players against the Suns – two more than required for the opening round against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on March 26 – and 31 players appeared in at least one NAB Challenge game. There are also several Crows returning from injuries in the next month, including 2015 finals players Charlie Cameron, Riley Knight and Ricky Henderson.   

“It’s going to be tight, there’s a lot of good players to go through 22 spots,” said Lyons, whose super goal will earn his junior team St Peter’s Football Club some new footballs.

“So whoever gets a gig will play their role and I’m sure the blokes will go back to the SANFL and do what they need to do to get back in.”

Lyons said the Gold Coast’s high humidity affected the game’s quality.

 “It was hard to fathom how slippery the ball was out there,” he said. “It was like a bar of soap and there wasn’t a drop of rain, just very greasy and dewy.

“That’s probably what we found hard … actually picking up the ball and getting first possession. They beat us inside which sort of hurt us but we found a way in the end.

“We knew we were down, that’s something we pride ourselves on, that contested footy, and they comfortably beat us in that. But I think we addressed that in the third quarter and we came out and kicked three or four goals on the trot which was good, it showed we could turn it around.”