Adelaide forward Tariek Newchurch says playing with confidence has been his biggest area of growth since joining the Club two seasons ago.

Newchurch has played 44 SANFL games for the Club and kicked 59 goals, since the Crows drafted him as a Category B Rookie in 2020.

Speaking to AFC Media, the 20-year-old reflected on his development over his time at West Lakes.

“The biggest areas of improvement for me have been going into the games with confidence and building on my consistency,” Newchurch said. 

“One of my goals was to play consistent footy, and I still need to work on it, but I feel I’ve gotten a lot better in my space.

“Using my speed in games is a big one for me as it is one of my weapons, and I’m bringing that more and more.

“I’ve learned so much over my time here and feel I’m able to impact games more consistently.”

Newchurch, a graduate of the Crows’ Next Generation Academy, has been a key contributor to Adelaide’s bright start to the SANFL season, booting 11 goals in six games.

Adelaide sits third on the SANFL ladder with a win-loss record of four-two and Newchurch is confident the side had what it takes to continue its strong, early-season form.

“We had a good pre-season as a Club and that really set us up well in both the SANFL and AFL,” Newchurch said. 

“Trying to knock on the door to play AFL footy is driving us in the SANFL and as a result we are playing a good brand of footy and winning games.

“We’re really pushing those older boys in the AFL side to play good footy up there.” 

Adelaide plays Norwood at Norwood Oval this Friday night after a League-wide bye due to the State Game.

Newchurch said he was keen to return to the field and exact revenge after losing to the Redlegs in the Preliminary Final last year.

“Going into this week, the boys are pretty fresh and ready to go after a week off,” Newchurch said. 

“Knowing they (Norwood) beat us in the finals last year we are pretty keen to go over to their home deck and beat them on a Friday night. 

“We’ve had a good start to the season, so we just need to keep going, prepare well and hopefully get the win by keeping on doing what we’ve been doing.” 

Adelaide’s SANFL side takes on Norwood at the Parade this Friday night, with the first bounce at 7.40pm.