The clock was ticking on the Supplemental Selection Period window when ruckman Lachie McAndrew caught up with his manager Ben Williams in late February last year - the pair settling in for lunch with four hours left until the pre-season signing deadline.

Delisted by Sydney and planning to revive his career with Norwood in the SANFL, McAndrew had been invited to train with Adelaide over the summer and made a strong impression competing with No.1 big man Reilly O'Brien.

Still, there were no guarantees at the end of that training stint, and the 210cm ruckman known as 'Stretch' was steeling himself for a season in the SANFL when coach Matthew Nicks turned up at the southern suburbs restaurant where McAndrew and Williams were meeting.

A list spot had opened for the Crows after back-up ruckman Kieran Strachan made the selfless decision to sit out the 2025 season due to a foot injury, with Williams and Nicks conspiring for the coach to make a surprise appearance at lunch to tell McAndrew the spot was his.

It was a sliding doors moment Adelaide and McAndrew, who has grabbed his second chance this year with both hands and established himself as a key player who has thrived under the new ruck rules.

"It was the last four hours of that SSP window and I wasn't sure if he (Williams) had any news from Nicksy," McAndrew recalled this week ahead of his first Showdown on Friday night.

"We were just chatting and he didn't give me much. Then I remember Nicksy popping up at the entrance and giving me the news, and it was a pretty incredible moment.

"They planned it well and they had me completely sold that it was going the other way, so I had absolutely no idea and they definitely got me good.

"But thinking back on it, it was a pretty epic moment for sure."

McAndrew paid tribute to Strachan, who made the decision to sit out the 2025 season after suffering a stress fracture in his heel, which he potentially could have returned from later in the year.

The 30-year-old was ultimately delisted at the end of the season but has remained with the Crows as their SANFL captain and a member of the AFLW coaching team, with McAndrew remaining close to the big man. 

"It was a massive moment and that just encapsulates who Kieran is. He's very selfless and he's still at the club and he's a great clubman," McAndrew said.

"He did what was best for the squad at the time, and I fell on the right side of that. We'll chat every time we're in at the club."     

McAndrew was praised by Nicks this week for the role he is playing as a nine-game ruckman, continuing to back up against difficult opponents and ranking No.2 in the AFL for total hit-outs to advantage (9.6 a game) and No.3 for overall hit-outs (32.9).

After earning the second chance he desperately wanted, the former rugby player said he had been determined to grab his opportunity this season after making his club debut in the round one win against Collingwood at the MCG.

"I've had plenty of pre-seasons to build the hunger and make sure that when that opportunity came around that I could take it with both hands," the 25-year-old said.

"I knew this year that I had a shot. My body felt good and I was moving well, so I felt like I put myself in the position to take it with two hands and it's shown so far this season. 

"There's always things that go through your head, like 'are you ever going to make it' or 'am I ever going to be at the level?' So it feels very rewarding for sure."

McAndrew's AFL career is an incredibly unlikely one in a number of ways after he grew up as part of a passionate rugby family in Sydney's northern beaches, dreaming of a professional career in that sport.

He had never watched a game of Australian football when Williams met him and suggested he had a greater chance of playing elite sport if he instead targeted a career as an AFL ruckman as part of the Swans Academy.

Williams, who told the Rugby 'lock' that he would probably need to grow to around 130kg to play his beloved sport professionally, took the tall teenager to a Swans game instead.

McAndrew was quickly sold and joined the Swans Academy, signing up with local club Manly-Warringah Wolves in 2020 and learning everything from the rules of the game to the different skills on the run. 

"The coach at the time at Manly was great to me and just let me go out and get a feel for it, because I was just running around out there not knowing what was going on," McAndrew said.

"To be able to learn on the fly was pretty crazy, and I remember doing a ruck contest and just having no idea what I did wrong and giving away free kicks.

"Then coming across my first big opponent, I remember getting taught a lesson in that game and I was nowhere near it.

"But then when I hit my first couple of kicks, it was really addictive. And when a hitout would turn into a goal or a shoulders-out look, that was pretty rewarding as a ruckman."

Champion ruckman Dean Cox was an influential figure for McAndrew at Sydney after he joined as a mid-season selection in 2021, as well as development and VFL coach Damian Truslove and head of wellbeing and player development Brett Kirk.

After playing two games in three-and-a-half seasons, it was Kirk who pointed McAndrew towards the SANFL after he was delisted, advising him that it was a strong competition that could help him develop and get noticed by AFL clubs.    

His first year with the Crows' SANFL team saw him flourish as a ruckman, but O'Brien's form and availability at AFL level meant there wasn't an opening.

The change in centre square ruck rules worked in McAndrew's favour in his second pre-season, however, while he continued his physical development with extra swimming sessions and continued game education.

Those close to the bright and hard-working big man said he loves the process of learning and reviewing matches, with plenty of nuggets already pocketed away this season after match-ups with gun rucks including Darcy Cameron, Luke Jackson, Tim English and Tom De Koning.

"In AFL footy, every week is going to be a new challenge, which makes it all the more fun, and I'm definitely taking a lot of learnings out of it and you figure out what works," McAndrew said.

"Being able to stay with some of those quicker ruckmen like English and Jackson has been a big lesson.

"But I love going through that, sitting down with Reilly O'Brien, or going through my clips with (ruck coach) Sammy Baulderstone.

"Being able to work alongside those two has been critical and I couldn't thank them enough."

Ahead of a Showdown battle with Port Adelaide big men Jordon Sweet and Dante Visentini, McAndrew said he was completely focused on football and making the most of his AFL career.

There is still an itch in his former sport that he might want to scratch down the line, but for now that can wait.

"Rugby was a foundation of my childhood and teenage years, and being able to play as a junior and then through school was great," McAndrew said.

"But there's no regrets there and obviously it's worked out well for me so far.

"Mum has become a big AFL fanatic and watches every single game, and Dad will only watch a game if I'm playing, so I haven't quite been able to convert him over, but he loves seeing me out there.

"Hopefully one day I get the chance to go back and play [Rugby] with my brother, but for now it's worked out really well and I haven't looked back. I've loved every second of it."