Crows midfielder Hugh Greenwood has successfully completed his first competitive hit-out in over five months, showing no signs of the Achilles soreness which hampered the back-end of his 2017 season.

The Tasmanian underwent minor foot surgery in November to correct the issue and said he felt ‘excellent’ after the Club’s intraclub match on Saturday. 

“It’s been a long preseason, just gradually building, but it’s benefitted in a lot of areas. My Achilles feels great, and the rest of my body feels great, so to be able to get some match fitness in today was awesome,” he said. 

“The guys have been really good, the PPT staff, the physios have really helped me along the way and I definitely feel better now than I did certainly a few months ago.” 

Greenwood lined up in the midfield alongside vice-captain Rory Sloane during the intraclub, taking the opportunity to soak up information from his teammates, coaches and opposition. 

“In terms of the midfield stuff, the message from Sloaney and ‘Campo’ [assistant coach Scott Camporeale] and ‘Pykey’ [coach Don Pyke] is to continue to bring what I bring and that’s pressure and energy around the stoppages,” he said.

“I’ll continue to work on my spread and transition stuff, but we had Sloaney helping us out and we had Jacko (Edwards) who’s a first-year guy, so it was a mixture of everyone in there and I thought we did a good job.” 


Hugh Greenwood in the Crows' intraclub on Saturday morning

With a delayed start to his pre-season, Greenwood admits he’s got some work to do to secure a Round One berth, with the season opener less than three weeks away. 

The 25-year-old is looking to the Club’s final JLT Community Series game against Port Adelaide next Saturday as a springboard to press his claims.

“I’ve got to keep putting my hand up. Obviously get selected for next weekend, and the following weekend I’ve got limited time to press my claim,” Greenwood said.

“Guys have been training really, really well throughout the preseason so they’re at the front of the selectors' minds. So for me, I’ve got a short window.

“I’ve really got to make the most of it, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. A lot of competition for spots, which is exciting, but Pykey, as he always says, ‘the team will pick itself’ and hopefully I can get amongst that.”