Rory Laird has suggested that this Adelaide forward line is the most dangerous he has played with in some time.
The 2017 Crows were an offensive powerhouse, scoring 109 points per game en route to the Grand Finals with Eddie Betts (55 goals), Taylor Walker (54), Josh Jenkins (45), Tom Lynch (31) and Charlie Cameron (29). ) leading the way.
At the weekend, the 2023 version of the Crows looked ultra impressive in their practice game against the West Coast, scoring 17 goals in a 59-point victory. Darcy Fogarty scored four goals, as did Ben Keays, while Walker scored three.
Add Izak Rankine and Josh Rachele and the Crows have all the makings of a quality offense.
“Yeah, that’s pretty close to,” Laird said on SEN SA’s home run when asked if it was Adelaide’s best forward line since 2017.
“I think there have been some really good additions that fit in well and complement each other really well.
“It also helps that we’ve brought in high-end talent like Josh Rachele, off-the-shelf talent like Izak Rankine, and then the continued development of a guy like Darcy Fogarty, who’s just the X factor and the revolutionary ability.
“As well as ‘Tex’ playing arguably the best football 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 spent most of his time with the Crows as an inside midfielder.
Fellow on the ball Laird says the change forward was intentional given Keays’ ability to work opponents into the ground.
“He’s played a bit more of a half-forward role the last two weeks,” he said of Keays.
“He also played a bit through the central rebound, but not as much as he had in the last two years when he was a full-time midfielder.
“I dare say the weekend was a 70-30 mix. Sometimes he appears as a striker around the stoppage, sometimes he plays as a permanent half-striker. He played a little less time indoors and you saw on the weekend his work rate and his ability to get ahead of his opponent.
“He did that a bit at the end of last year, playing Adam Saad (of Carlton) in a forward (defensive) line role, and brings that different factor to the forward line.”
The Crows were one of the in-form sides in pre-season after beating Fremantle in an unofficial practice match before beating the Eagles.
Matthew Nicks’ side open their 2023 season against GWS at Giants Stadium on Sunday, March 19.
