PEDLAR’S TOP WARES ON SHOW
IT HAS taken two years to build the base his body needs and now Luke Pedlar is ready to make his mark in the AFL.
The No.11 pick of the 2020 draft has managed just five games for the Crows, with two of these as an unused medical sub.
It is the third-lowest of the top 11 from his draft year.
Out of the 22 players who were taken after Pedlar that year, 14 have either played more or matched his total.
But now the 20-year-old is set to make up for lost time and continue his upward trajectory at Adelaide’s internal trial on Friday.
“I think it has taken me two years to get a bit of a base with some of the injuries that I’ve carried over the last two years,” Pedlar said.
“But now I’m in a great place and hopefully it can set up my year and (I) play some consistent footy at AFL level.”
A power athlete and a tackling machine when he gets going, Pedlar has had to deal with ankle, adductor and shoulder injuries since he was drafted by the Crows from Glenelg and Prince Alfred College – having grown up in Kingston in South Australia’s southeast.
“Yeah a little bit different to a few of my peers, I was probably in a bit of a different boat with my body,” he said.
“A lot more strength work and core with the way I play, I needed a bit more of a baseline before I could go out and play the way I want to.
“So there is a lot behind the scenes with recovery and prep to train, I do a bit of a different prep to everyone else before training.”
Pedlar has been one of the standouts of Adelaide’s preseason so far.
Drafted as a midfielder, he is getting closer and closer to locking in a spot in the Crows’ 22 as a smaller forward.
“I think it is a spot that is available and I can play some good footy there and I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I’ve trained in that position all pre-season and maybe later on in the year I will integrate back into the midfield.”