Adelaide defender Max Michalanney says teammate Josh Rachele is set to take his game to the next level, after an eye-catching pre-season training as a midfielder.
Rachele has spent the first four years of his career honing his craft as a damaging small forward, but this summer has provided an extra element to the Crows’ on-ball brigade.
The impact of Rachele’s shift was most notable in last Friday’s session, where he booted four goals in three quarters of game play as a midfielder.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Michalanney said players had noticed Rachele’s improvement and praised the hard work he had put in throughout the summer.
“The glaring one, and he’s been getting a fair bit of media time as well, is Josh Rachele. His move into the midfield has been super damaging,” Michalanney said.
“You saw in the match simulation last week where he kicked four goals and had 20-odd touches, and I think he’s one to watch this year, he’s definitely going to be a dangerous player.
“He’s worked really hard on both his body and his skills. He is super strong in the gym, he benched up to 150kg, which is pretty crazy for someone his height and weight.
“He’s running really well, and something that has always been part of his game is his elite foot skills. Having him around the footy and him distributing through the midfield is something we’ve been working on this pre-season and hopefully he can dominate this year.”
Along with his development on the field, Michalanney added that the 22-year-old’s growth as a leader had been just as impressive.
“Just maturity - as time has gone on, he’s got older and learnt a few things - he’s a real leader of our footy Club now,” Michalanney said.
“When he talks, boys listen, and he’s a real role model for the young boys because he has elite training standards and knows the game plan back to front.
“He’s someone we lean on for advice, and he’s going to be a leader for our team.”
Michalanney, meanwhile, endured an interrupted start to his pre-season, with a sore knee restricting him throughout the pre-Christmas block of training.
The 21-year-old had now integrated back with the main group, and said his body was in good shape as practice matches approached.
“It’s been good to be back, I missed a little bit of that pre-season training before Christmas, but now I’m back in with the main group, and I’m stoked to be part of it,” Michalanney said.
“I feel like I got a lot fitter in that rehab time, a lot stronger, so I think that’s going to hold me in good stead, so I’m excited to see where we can go this year.
“I was working through a few niggles, nothing serious, just a little bit of a sore knee, but that’s come good now, which is the main thing.
“I was very fortunate to have a really caring and good rehab group that knows exactly what they’re doing, so I was really thankful to Duncan Kellaway, those boys really know what they’re talking about, and they got me back on track as fast as they could.”
Despite fleeting forays forward and into the midfield in his first three seasons, Michalanney is preparing to enter the 2026 campaign as a key cog in the Crows’ defence.
He said versatility was something he would continue to develop into his game, and would always be open to new opportunities if they arose.
“I’d like to think, hopefully in the future, I can progress up forward or midfield, but at the moment I am training with the defenders group, so that’s probably where you can expect to see me at the start of this year,” Michalanney said.
“If the coaches do decide to pull a string like that I am more than happy to do it, it will be a great challenge, so I am excited to see what happens from there, but I’m hoping Dan gets back as soon as he can.”
Away from football, Skipper Jordan Dawson provided the group with a major sporting highlight on Tuesday night, as he took a hat trick in the Club’s social T20 cricket team.
Michalanney said Dawson had enjoyed recounting the feat to his teammates, and that the cricket team had helped bring the group closer together.
“He’ll tell you all about it, if he was up here right now, he’d be telling you all about the hat trick that he got last night.
“It’s a good thing that we do away from the Club, it brings us together, and creates good memories like that.
“As a footy Club you want to be tight, you want to be best mates and you want to look after each other away from the field as well.
“That’s a real strength of our group at the moment, we are not just teammates, we are not just colleagues, we actually care for one another genuinely, outside of the game as well.”
