Some famous Crows names will be seen on the Adelaide Oval turf on Saturday including Bickley, McDermott, Ricciuto, Modra, Smart, Hart and more.

The sons and daughters of 15 of the Club’s past players will take part in the inaugural Father Son and Daughter Academy curtain raiser match ahead of the Crows’ Round 15 clash with West Coast.

The curtain raiser, which commences at 2pm, will be the fourth activation of Adelaide’s Father Son and Daughter Academy program since it launched 12 months ago.

The program has since expanded to include girls (daughters), off the back of the huge growth in the women’s game, and now more than 30 children of past players are involved.

Next Generation Academy Coordinator Jarrod Meers said the program aims to engage with, nurture and accelerate the development of those participating.

“It’s great to be able to link in with our past players and their families and provide a range of experiences to grow their connection with the Club and the game,” Meers said.

“The reality is that not all of the children in our Academy programs will go on to represent the Crows at either AFL or AFLW level, but at the very least we hope to further develop their interest in football and give them an opportunity to gain insight into an elite club environment.

“The experience may inspire some of these boys and girls to follow in their dads’ footsteps and purse a playing career in Australian Rules, as Father-Son draftees Ben Jarman and Jackson Edwards have done, or perhaps pursue a career in administration or coaching.”

Children of the following past players will be taking part on Saturday: Chris McDermott, Mark Bickley, Matthew Robran, Mark Ricciuto, Tony Modra, Mark Mickan, Scott Welsh, Rod Jameson, Brett Burton, Nigel Smart, Ben Hart, Troy Cook, Ryan Fitzgerald, Bryan Beinke, Matthew Clarke, along with the sons of current players Eddie Betts and Tom Lynch.

The Father Son and Daughter Academy is one of eight Academy programs the Crows now run, including an Elite Talent Academy, Diversity Academy, Indigenous Academy, Girls High Performance Academy, Regional Talent Academies (Murray Bridge, Port Augusta and South East), Schools Participation Academy and Next Gen Academy Approved Talent program.