Adelaide remains confident in its direction and strategy, following the end of this year's trade period, according to Crows Head of Football Adam Kelly.

The Crows were unable to strike a deal with Brisbane in their pursuit of Lions forward Callum Ah Chee, but did finalise a trade with North Melbourne for Finnbar Maley.

Kelly told an Adelaide radio station on Thursday the Crows would continue to pursue list-strengthening opportunities but remained firm in prioritising meaningful additions.

“The reality is that we’re pursuing players throughout the course of the year to try and track their interest in coming to us in the first place, and we did so aggressively,” Kelly said.

“As a club we don’t comment on individual players throughout the year, but if we had the opportunity to add a player who was really going to help our midfield, we would’ve done that.”

Kelly was also confident the Crows’ emerging midfield brigade would take another step forward in 2026.

“Specific to our midfield, we’ve got a lot of players - we’ve got (Sam) Berry, (Dan) Curtin, (Josh) Rachele, (Luke) Pedlar (Charlie) Edwards (Jake) Soligo, (Zac) Taylor, (Billy) Dowling, (Sid) Draper - they’re all aged 23 or under, so we’ve got a group of players who we know are going to continue to improve,” Kelly said.

“But having said that, if there was an opportunity to bring in a proven and highly capable midfielder, we would’ve done that.

“We are not trading for the sake of trading. In every assessment, you are trying to balance what does an individual player bring to what you’ve already got on your list, and is it improving our overall position?”

The addition of Maley - a 22-year-old forward from the Kangaroos -  would bolster the squad’s forward and ruck stocks, according to Kelly.

Maley stands at 197cm, was traded along with Pick 64 in exchange for Adelaide’s Pick 57 this year and future fourth-round selection (2026).

Kelly said recruiting staff had tracked Maley’s development across the past few years and believed the former basketballer had plenty of potential.

“Our recruiting team has been really impressed with his progress since he was rookie listed back in 2023,” Kelly said.

“He gives a  strong aerial contest and can also play the second ruck. He’s a competitive and combative player.

“I know that it’s been fed back that he brings great energy and he’s much-loved around the locker room, so we’re bringing in a player who we think has got more development coming at just 22 years of age.”

Ah Chee, meanwhile, had expressed a desire to continue his career at the Crows and was hopeful of a trade being struck.

But Adelaide and Brisbane were unable to agree on terms before the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period deadline on Wednesday night.

It now means Ah Chee will need to nominate for next month’s pre-season draft, where the Crows will have an opportunity to select him.

Rival clubs who have picks before Adelaide will, however, also have an opportunity to swoop on the 28-year-old.

Kelly said it would be unlikely for another club to attempt to snare Ah Chee, and the Crows were committed to securing the Lion.

“The first point is that Cal will (now) need to nominate for the pre-season draft and in doing so has the ability to nominate his terms, which will become visible to any other club who has any interest in his services,” Kelly said.

“We are as confident as we can be at this stage. Obviously other clubs have got the opportunity before us… But we also know those clubs are going to need to be considerate of the fact that this is a player who has one objective in mind and that is to play with Adelaide.”

The Crows will now turn their attention to finalising their list ahead of the Telstra AFL Draft, on Wednesday November 19, and Thursday, November 20.

The pre-season draft will follow on November 21.