The 2018 Adelaide Football Club season was the Adelaide Football Club's 28th season in the AFL. It was also its second season in the AFL Women's and its 5th season fielding a reserves team in the SANFL. The men's team started the season successfully, winning the inaugural Adelaide AFLX competition.
AFL
List changes
After only making one appearance at AFL level in the 2017 season, two-time club champion Scott Thompson decided to retire. Before trade period began, the Crows announced that they would not be renewing the contracts of Troy Menzel and Dean Gore. They also officially announced that Sam Shaw had been removed from the rookie list after being kept on it during the 2017 season for administrative reasons.
Days after Adelaide's grand final loss, Jake Lever requested a trade to . Adelaide were able to secure two first round draft picks (one in the 2017 draft and one in the 2018 draft) for the key defender. The Crows then used the 2017 first round pick, along with their own, to bring Bryce Gibbs to the club from . Charlie Cameron requested a trade to , but it wasn't until the final hour of the trade period that he was traded in exchange for pick 12 in the 2017 draft. During the trade period Adelaide also traded Harrison Wigg for Pick 39 and brought veteran Sam Gibson into the side in exchange for Pick 91.
Before the 2017 national draft, the Crows also delisted Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Jono Beech. Beech was told that he would not be offered another contract, but the club committed to re-drafting Ellis-Yolmen in the 2018 rookie draft. The team also nominated Jackson Edwards, the son of dual premiership player Tyson Edwards, for a father–son selection. Edwards was not picked up during the national draft by any team, and as a result he automatically joined the Crows list with their final selection in the rookie draft.
Adelaide only used two draft picks in the national draft. With their first round pick the Crows selected South Australian forward/midfielder Darcy Fogarty. At the start of 2017 Fogarty had been considered a contender for the number one draft pick, but his 2017 season was ended in July when he suffered an injury requiring knee surgery and he slipped down the draft to pick 12, enabling the Crows to select him. The Crows' second pick was in round three, the pick they had received for trading Wigg to Gold Coast, and they used it to draft Andrew McPherson, who they hadn't expected to still be available. In addition to re-drafting Cam Ellis-Yolmen and automatically acquiring Jackson Edwards in the rookie draft, the Crows selected Patrick Wilson, mature-aged SANFL premiership player with , and Lachlan Murphy, a member of the club's development squad who had been playing in the SANFL reserves team in 2017.
Retirements and delistings Player Date Reason Career games Career goals Ref. Scott Thompson 25 July 2017 Retired 308 162 Troy Menzel 7 October 2017 Delisted 44 51 Dean Gore 7 October 2017 Delisted 0 0 Cam Ellis-Yolmen 30 October 2017 Delisted 14 7 Jono Beech 30 October 2017 Delisted 3 1
Trades
Date Gained From Lost Ref. 12 October 2017 Pick 102018 first round pick (Melbourne)2018 fourth round pick (Melbourne) Jake LeverPick 352018 third round pick (Adelaide) 18 October 2017 Pick 39 Harrison WiggPick 542018 fourth round pick (Adelaide) 19 October 2017 Bryce GibbsPick 772018 second round pick (Carlton)2018 third round pick (Carlton) Pick 10Pick 16Pick 732018 second round pick (Adelaide) 19 October 2017 Sam Gibson Pick 91 19 October 2017 Pick 12 Charlie Cameron
National draft
Round Pick Player Recruited from League Ref. 1 12 Darcy Fogarty SANFL 3 40 Andrew McPherson SANFL
Rookie draft Round Pick Player Recruited from League Ref. 1 17 Patrick Wilson SANFL 2 31 Cam Ellis-Yolmen AFL 3 38 Lachlan Murphy SANFL 4 41 Jackson Edwards SANFL
Squad
Season summary
AFLX
Adelaide participated in Group A of the inaugural AFLX competition. All matches were played at Cooper Stadium in Adelaide on Thursday, 15 February. After defeating and to finish at the top of their pool, the Crows defeated by 8 points in the final and became the first ever AFLX premiers. Though Adelaide mainly played depth players rather than a top-level squad, experienced trio Cam Ellis-Yolmen, Curtly Hampton and Kyle Cheney, all of whom had missed much of 2017 due to injury, had opportunities to perform well.
Pre-season
The Crows had to rest several key players for JLT Community Series matches due to injury recovery, such as captain Taylor Walker, key defender Daniel Talia and midfielders Rory Sloane and Hugh Greenwood. During the series new recruits at the club put their name forward to play for the team in the opening round of the regular season, including Lachlan Murphy, a rookie-listed small forward, and Bryce Gibbs, an off-season recruit from . Game Date and local time Opponent Scores (Adelaide's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Report Home Away Result 1 Sunday, 25 February (1:35 pm) 13.13 (91) 12.9 (81) Won by 10 points Strathalbyn Oval, Strathalbyn (H) 6,398 2 Saturday, 10 March (4:35 pm) 16.12 (98) 11.6 (72) Lost by 26 points Alberton Oval (A) 6,157
Game 1 The Crows went into the JLT Community Series knowing that they would be without several players due to injury, notably including captain Taylor Walker, who was set to return from a foot injury in time for the first match of the regular season. In addition, midfielders Brad Crouch and Hugh Greenwood were left out of the team for the first game due to better manage their recoveries from injury. However, the first match was also the first opportunity for off-season recruit Bryce Gibbs to play a full match with the Crows. In the absence of both Taylor Walker and Rory Sloane, Tom Lynch was named the captain for Adelaide's match against Fremantle. During training for the match, defender Daniel Talia rolled his ankle and was withdrawn from the team, replaced with draftee Darcy Fogarty.
The Crows got out to a 29-point lead at half-time, but Fremantle fought back to get a lead of 9 points deep into the last quarter. The Crows scored the final three goals of the game to win by 10 points. Among the Crows' best players were Gibbs (with 27 possessions and a goal) and Matt Crouch (with 36 disposals), who was dominant in the stoppages. Acting captain Lynch was also impressive as a link-up forward.
Game 2 Talia returned from injury and joined the team for the first time of the year, along with Sloane, Greenwood, Eddie Betts, Richard Douglas and Kyle Hartigan, with the Crows fielding 25 players in the pre-season derby against crosstown rivals . Again the Crows had a commanding lead at half-time but allowed their opposition to get back into the game. This time they had a 26-point lead which Port Adelaide overcame, and they lost the game by 26 points themselves, only scoring three goals in the second half of the game. Despite the loss, there were impressive performances from new players Fogarty and Sam Gibson, a recruit from , both of whom put themselves into contention for a debut for the Crows in round 1 of the regular season. Small forward Lachlan Murphy also performed well for the second match in a row to put his name forwards.
Home and Away season
The fixture for the 2018 home and away season was announced on 31 October 2017. Adelaide will host in a re-match of the 2017 AFL Grand Final in round 2 on a Thursday night at the Adelaide Oval. Bryce Gibbs will play against former side for the first time in round 7, then the Crows will face off against ex-Crow Jake Lever for the first time when they play in round 10.
Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Adelaide's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Report Home Away Result 1 Friday, 23 March (7:50 pm) 14.15 (99) 12.15 (87) Lost by 12 points Etihad Stadium (A) 38,324 2 Thursday, 29 March (7:20 pm) 18.10 (118) 12.10 (82) Won by 36 points Adelaide Oval (H) 49,743 3 Saturday, 7 April (7:25 pm) 7.13 (55) 15.14 (104) Won by 49 points Etihad Stadium (A) 19,324 4 Friday, 13 April (7:20 pm) 9.4 (58) 16.10 (106) Lost by 48 points Adelaide Oval (H) 45,495 5 Friday, 20 April (7:50 pm) 10.15 (75) 12.13 (85) Won by 10 points SCG (A) 38,017 6 Saturday, 28 April (7:10 pm) 16.14 (110) 9.8 (62) Won by 48 points Adelaide Oval (H) 44,835 7 Saturday, 5 May (7:10 pm) 19.11 (125) 10.10 (70) Won by 55 points Adelaide Oval (H) 47,422 8 Saturday, 12 May (4:40 pm) 14.11 (95) 14.6 (90) Lost by 5 points Adelaide Oval (A) 50,967 9 Friday, 18 May (7:20 pm) 9.9 (63) 2.14 (26) Won by 37 points Adelaide Oval (H) 39,407 10 Sunday, 27 May (2:50 pm) 23.8 (146) 8.7 (55) Lost by 91 points TIO Traeger Park (A) 6,989 11 Sunday, 3 June (4:10 pm) 11.15 (81) 14.13 (97) Lost by 16 points Adelaide Oval (H) 44,120 12 Sunday, 10 June (2:40 pm) 10.11 (71) 9.14 (68) Lost by 3 points Perth Stadium (A) 33,421 13 Saturday, 16 June (7:25 pm) 12.16 (88) 4.8 (32) Lost by 56 points MCG (A) 26,693 14 Bye 15 Saturday, 30 June (4:05 pm) 12.16 (88) 12.6 (78) Won by 10 points Adelaide Oval (H) 44,771 16 Friday, 6 July (7:50 pm) 15.13 (103) 8.8 (56) Lost by 47 points MCG (A) 54,934 17 Thursday, 12 July (7:20 pm) 16.16 (112) 14.13 (97) Won by 15 points Adelaide Oval (H) 46,095 18 Saturday, 21 July (7:25 pm) 13.10 (88) 13.15 (93) Won by 5 points The Gabba (A) 20,475 19 Saturday, 28 July (7:10 pm) 10.17 (77) 13.12 (90) Lost by 13 points Adelaide Oval (H) 45,880 20 Saturday, 4 August (4:05 pm) 13.18 (96) 14.9 (93) Won by 3 points Adelaide Oval (H) 50,377 21 Saturday, 11 August (7:25 pm) 15.16 (106) 13.14 (92) Lost by 14 points UNSW Canberra Oval (A) 13,249 22 Sunday, 19 August (4:10 pm) 12.14 (86) 11.11 (77) Won by 9 points Adelaide Oval (H) 41,444 23 Saturday, 25 August (7:25 pm) 8.13 (61) 26.9 (165) Won by 104 points Etihad Stadium (A) 17,000
Round 1 Due to injuries from the pre-season, there was uncertainty about whether or not Taylor Walker, due to a foot injury, and Brad Crouch, due to abdominal strain, would be playing. According to Daniel Talia, the Crows were taking a cautious approach, unwilling to risk using players who had not had a full pre-season, and as a result neither played in round 1. Instead of Walker, the Crows played debutant Darcy Fogarty, who made his debut alongside Tom Doedee (who was in the side to replace Jake Lever, who had left the club to play for ) and Lachlan Murphy.
Breaking with their normal routine for matches in Melbourne, the Crows elected to fly to Melbourne a day early to have a closed training session in an undisclosed location. On the day of the match, Sam Gibson, listed to play his first match for the Crows since moving from the previous season, was withdrawn from the squad due to hamstring tightness. Having played 130 consecutive games for North Melbourne before being delisted, this put an end to the longest-running streak of consecutive matches played in the AFL at the time.
During the first quarter of the match, Richard Douglas was reported by the field umpires for rough conduct on Essendon player Zach Merrett during a collision which resulted in a concussion for Merrett, ruling Merrett out of the rest of the match. The match was tight and low-scoring during the first half, with Essendon going into half-time with a 5-point lead. The Crows then opened up more opportunities for scoring in the third quarter and outscored Essendon by seven goals to three to take a 20-point lead themselves. Some of the Crows best players on the ground were Rory Laird and Matt Crouch, both of whom achieved 40 disposals throughout the match, and Bryce Gibbs, playing his first match for Adelaide since moving from . Gibbs had 35 disposals, including seven clearances and two goals in the third quarter.