For Adelaide utility Brayden Cook, Friday night’s practice match against Port Adelaide served as the perfect opportunity for him to showcase his versatility as a footballer. 

Since returning for pre-season training in November last year, the 23-year-old has devoted himself to learning the caper of the half back flank, as he made the switch from classy forward to dashing defender. 

Cook has been a stand-out across the summer in his new position, with his mixture of skill, poise and speed making him a natural fit in the Crows’ defensive group. 

But heading into the pre-season opener, availability and team balance meant that Cook’s opportunity in the senior side would have to come on the wing. 

He took the opportunity with both hands, putting his developing skill-set on show in a slightly different position.

“I’ve been training half back all pre-season, which has been a lot of fun, but tonight my opportunity came on the wing, and I jumped at the chance to play up there,” Cook told AFC Media post-game. 

“I went into the game with the mindset of just trying to make the most of my chance, and overall I felt pretty good out there. 

“Although it was a slightly different position to where I have been training, I was able to use a lot of what I’d learned in the summer at half back up on the wing tonight and felt confident in my game. 

“Body wise I felt I was moving across the grass pretty well, it was just a lot of fun being out there with the boys and playing my part in what was a relatively strong performance.” 

Cook was one of a number of Crows to play key roles in their 19-point victory against the Power at Alberton Oval. 

He said it was exciting to be able to put pre-season learnings into practice and praised the influence of three inexperienced teammates along with the goalkicking efforts of Riley Thilthorpe.

“It’s very refreshing to be out there playing against an actual opposition, it’s a lot easier to play footy when your opponent doesn’t know what you’re doing, so that first taste is always very fun,” Cook said. 

“We tried out a lot of younger boys today and they really stood up, the likes of Charlie Edwards, Lachie McAndrew and Toby Murray were awesome today and really took their opportunity, which was awesome to see. 

“I also came away from this game with a lot of confidence in our big boys, they were clunking everything today. 

“Having Filthy (Riley Thilthorpe) in that sort of form was awesome to watch, there is nobody I like kicking to more inside-50 than him and he was such a beacon for us tonight.” 

Having had a taste of competitive match-play, Cook is putting his hand up to get back on the field and play again. 

He said confidence was high as he looked ahead to the remainder of the Crows’ pre-season campaign. 

“Getting the opportunity to play tonight gives me a lot of confidence heading into the future, and I’m just looking forward to the next opportunity to get out there and play,” Cook said. 

“I feel like I’ve come on leaps and bounds, especially in the past year, and that’s been due to the fact that I’ve become a lot leaner and able to cover the ground better. 

“I’m feeling very confident in my body at the moment, which is allowing me to play higher quality footy for longer periods of time - so I’m hoping to continue to keep that going and hopefully get better with every game I play.” 

Adelaide will continue its pre-season with a trip to Mandurah in Western Australia to take on Fremantle next Saturday.