Adelaide defender Mark Keane says the Crows’ internal trial will be an opportunity for players to showcase the hard work they’ve put in across the summer.
The Crows’ internal trial will be hosted at Port Lincoln’s Centenary Oval on Friday, as a culmination of the Club’s two-day AFL Community Camp.
Speaking to the media after touching down in the Eyre Peninsula on Thursday, Keane expected the game to be a strong hit-out.
“It’s (the trial) about putting all the hard work from pre-season into match play,” Keane said.
“We’ve done a bit of match sim, but we haven’t played four quarters of proper match sim.
“Tomorrow will technically be our last session of pre-season and then (we go into) playing opposition, so I’m looking forward to that.
“The lads are going really well, all the young lads are taking another step towards games, so it should be promising this year and I’d like to be able to play a key role in the team this year.”
The Irishman arrived at West Lakes last February as a pre-season supplemental signing after five games with Collingwood.
He made his Crows debut in Showdown 54 and impressed, eventually earning a two-year contract extension.
Keane was confident having a full pre-season under his belt would hold him in good stead ahead of the Crows’ 2024 campaign, which kicks off on March 16.
“I went back home to Ireland during Covid and last year I only came back out here (to Australia) in February, so this has been my first pre-season in four years,” Keane said.
“It’s been good to get a full pre-season but it wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.
“I put a lot of work into my off-season to make sure I was here four weeks before Christmas and stayed here for Christmas so I could put my best foot forward going into January and February.
“I am really settling in here, my parents just moved over from Ireland and I am going to make the time count while I’m here.”
As part of the Club’s community trip, players will visit 10 schools across the region, including in Tumby Bay, Cummins, Poonindie, Lake Wangary and Port Lincoln, delivering clinics to approximately 900 students.
They will also be delivering the Adelaide Crows Foundation’s popular STEMfooty program to more than 200 students, while there are 400 children registered to take part in a community clinic on Thursday and 110 registered for the girls footy clinic on Friday.
An open training session will be hosted at Centenary Oval, Port Lincoln, on Thursday at 5pm.
“It’s my first time coming here and it’s good to be in Port Lincoln,” Keane said.
“It will be good to see the countryside of South Australia, Sloaney always says when you come here, it’s about embracing the countryside and getting to places you’ve never been before.
“I’m looking forward to getting around the schools… (and) we have an open training session tonight, so it will be good to get around the supporters.”
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