Two-time premiership Crow Mark Bickley has broken down his concerns that Adelaide’s midfield is going to prevent this current core from developing into a flag contender.
The Crows look to be a tough matchup in 2023, displaying a new pressure-centric gameplan throughout pre-season to pair with their star-studded forward line.
With much of the list still yet to reach their potential, Adelaide is expected to grow from a competitive side this season to a real threat in following years.
However, Bickley isn’t sure that the squad’s midfield crop will ever reach the heights necessary to be true contenders.
“You use Melbourne as an example, (Clayton) Oliver and (Christian) Petracca are just two elite midfielders, probably in the top five midfielders in the competition, then you’ve got Jack Viney who is just a great player, but he’s not quite at that level,” he told SEN’s Saturdays in SA.
“I feel like Adelaide have got three or four Jack Vineys, but they don’t have a Petracca or an Oliver, or both.
“That’s going to be the challenge, not just this year.
“I think (Sam) Berry and (Luke) Pedlar, some of those players are going to be really good players, but do they have the potential to be in the top five midfielders in the competition.”
Bickley acknowledges that Adelaide have one of the best forward groups in the competition, but is concerned they will be limited by the engine room.
“I think their front half is really good, you’ve got Taylor Walker up there and Darcy Fogarty, the lynchpin will be Darcy Fogarty, I think his last 11 games last year he kicked over 30 goals so you extrapolate that out, that’s a 60-goal year for Darcy Fogarty,” he said.
“Taylor Walker sort of slots in there as well with (Josh) Rachele, if he can stay fit his second year, and (Izak) Rankine, you’ve actually got some weapons up there, so I think that’s important.
“The midfield is the lynchpin though, you’ve got to be able to get enough supply and enough good supply.
“That’s going to be the question and for mine I’ve always just felt like they’re a little bit blue collar, all a bit the same.”
Young guns like Izak Rankine and Josh Rachele have been frequently tipped as the solution to Adelaide’s midfield construction, yet Bickley has his concerns when he compares them to the elites of the competition.
“When you look at some of the other clubs that are pushing to win the flag, whether it’s Richmond with (Dustin) Martin in there and that was the lynchpin of their success and now they’ve got (Jacob) Hopper and (Tim) Taranto,” he said.
“Brisbane have got Lachie Neale the Brownlow medallist and then they’ve added a best and fairest winner in Josh Dunkley.
“Geelong have (Patrick) Dangerfield and others who they’ve been able to introduce through there.
“When you look at let’s say Port Adelaide, maybe not quite there yet, but (Ollie) Wines is a Brownlow medallist, you’ve got (Connor) Rozee who’s pushing there, I was really impressed with (Jason) Horne-Francis in that second half against Fremantle, looked like he had some top end speed and power.
“Adelaide, I’ve really liked what they’ve seen so far, they look fit, they look really hard, they look desperate and hungry, which is a great thing to have.
“(Luke) Pedlar has been really impressive, Rankine and Rachele have gone through the middle, (Jake) Soligo is another one who looks really impressive.
“But the question will be how quickly can they or is it possible for them to become A-grade midfielders who are All-Australian, that’s the challenge for me that I see with Adelaide.”
The Crows will put their pre-season form to the test when they travel interstate to take on GWS on March 19.