Patrick McGinnity of the West Coast Eagles tackles Brad Crouch of the Adelaide Crows during the 2013 AFL Round 23 match between West Coast Eagles and the Adelaide Crows at Patersons Stadium, Perth on August 31, 2013. (Photo: Daniel Carson/AFL Media)

Exciting midfielder Brad Crouch has signed a two-year contract extension, tying him to the Crows until at least the end of 2016.

A delighted coach Brenton Sanderson made the announcement at the Crows Club Champion presentation on Friday night.



Recruited by Adelaide as a 17-year-old in the 2011 GWS ‘mini-draft’, Crouch enjoyed an outstanding debut AFL season. Crouch finished runner-up to Gold Coast onballer Jaeger O’Meara in the 2013 Rising Star. The 19-year-old collected the award for Emerging Talent on Friday night and also finished 10th in the Club Champion award, polling 39 votes from only 14 games.

Crouch polled more votes (33) than any other Crow in the final 10 rounds of the season.

Crows General Manager of List Development and Strategy David Noble said he was thrilled Crouch had committed to the Club longer-term.

“We were very keen to extend Brad’s contract,” Noble said.

“After a frustrating start to the season, Brad improved with every game he played. The recognition he’s received both internally and externally in the past week is a reflection of a very impressive first season of AFL footy.

“We’re excited Brad has signed for a further two years, and we see him as an integral part of our midfield for many years to come.”

Crouch made his much-anticipated AFL debut against the Brisbane Lions in Round Two.

A hamstring injury prevented the Ballarat teenager from cementing his place in the team early in the season, but he returned to play a starring role in the Crows midfield in the second half of the year.

In the last 10 games, the skilful midfielder ranked first at West Lakes in disposals (266) and handball receives (115), second in tackles (47), third in marks (50) and fourth in clearances (40), contested possessions (88) and hard ball-gets (30).

Not only was Crouch Adelaide’s best-performed midfielder in the latter-half of the season, his statistics stacked up with the elite players in the AFL. From Round 14 onwards, Crouch ranked 12th – level with 2010 Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett – in the competition for total disposals (266), averaging 26.6 possessions per game.

He topped 30 touches on two occasions, amassing 31 against both Melbourne and Gold Coast – the latter performance earned him the Round 14 Rising Star nomination. Crouch polled 31 votes from the Rising Star judges on Wednesday to finish 13 behind O’Meara (44) in the award.

Newly-crowned Club Champion Rory Sloane described Crouch as a “phenomenal” talent.

“Crouchy is unbelievable,” Sloane said.

“The way he attacks the ball and the excitement he brings to the game … the coaches and players love him. Our supporters love him too and once he shaved his head he definitely got noticed a bit more.

“He’s going to be a phenomenal player and I’m so pumped he’s signed up for another couple of years. David Noble has done an unbelievable job again this year and signing up Crouchy for a longer period of time is great for our footy club.

“We’re starting to develop a really strong midfield and I’m going to love playing alongside him.”

Crouch follows young teammates Sam Kerridge, Daniel Talia, Rory Laird, Luke Brown, Cam Ellis-Yolmen and Mitch Grigg in committing to the Club this year. Captain Nathan van Berlo, full-back Ben Rutten and onballer Matthew Wright have also re-signed.