Rory Laird has suggested that this Adelaide forward line is the most dangerous he’s played with in some time.
The Crows of 2017 were an attacking powerhouse, scoring 109 points per game on their way to the Grand Final with Eddie Betts (55 goals), Taylor Walker (54), Josh Jenkins (45), Tom Lynch (31) and Charlie Cameron (29) leading the way.
On the weekend, the 2023 version of the Crows looked ultra impressive in their practice match against West Coast, kicking 17 goals in a 59-point win. Darcy Fogarty booted four goals, as did Ben Keays, while Walker kicked three.
Throw in the likes of Izak Rankine and Josh Rachele and the Crows have all the ingredients of a quality attack.
“Yeah, it’s pretty close to,” Laird said on SEN SA’s The Run Home when asked if this is the best Adelaide forward line since 2017.
“I think there’s been some really good additions who fit in well and complement each other really well.
“It also helps that we’ve drafted high-end talent like Josh Rachele, ready-made talent like Izak Rankine and then the continued development of a bloke like Darcy Fogarty, which is just the X-factor and game-breaking ability.
“Along with ‘Tex’ arguably playing the best footy of his career, I think it’s a really good balance of pressure, skill and execution, polish and talent.
“If they can play half as well as they did on the weekend they’re going to be pretty impressive up there.”
Keays kicking four majors was somewhat of a surprise as he’s spent most of his time with the Crows as an inside midfielder.
His on-ball colleague Laird says the shift forward has been by design given Keays’ ability to work his opponents into the ground.
“He played a bit more of the half-forward role the last couple of weeks,” he said of Keays.
“He played a bit through the centre bounce as well but not as much as he had in the last two years where he was a full-time mid.
“I dare say on the weekend it was a 70-30 mix. At times he comes up as a forward around the stoppage, sometimes he plays as a permanent half-forward. He’s played a bit less time inside and you saw on the weekend his work rate and his ability to get forward of his opponent.
“He did it a bit at the end of last year, playing on (Carlton’s) Adam Saad in a (defensive) forward line role, and brings that different factor to the forward line.”
The Crows were one of the form teams of the pre-season after beating Fremantle in an unofficial practice match before thumping the Eagles.
Matthew Nicks’ side opens their 2023 season against GWS at Giants Stadium on Sunday, March 19.