James Murphy
THERE is a new face at the helm of the Adelaide Crows and he calls the Limestone Coast home.
Robe’s Jordan Dawson was recently announced as skipper ahead of the 2023 AFL season and will take over the reins from outgoing captain Rory Sloane.
Upon the announcement, Dawson said he was flooded with messages from people back home.
“The reaction was pretty special,” he said.
“I had hundreds of messages from people back home saying how proud they are of me.
“To represent Robe and that region is really special to me.”
The 25-year-old began his football career as a Rooster, playing for his home club in the Mid South Eastern Football League.
He played a handful of games for Sturt in the SANFL in 2015, before he was picked up by Sydney in that year’s national draft, where he then spent six seasons with the Swans.
At the conclusion of the 2021 AFL season, Dawson requested a trade back to South Australia, which landed him a dream position at the Crows – the club he supported growing up.
Now he takes the plunge into captaincy, an impressive achievement in just his second year at Adelaide.
Dawson steps into some big shoes, filled by the likes of Sloane, Taylor “Tex” Walker and Nathan van Berlo over the last decade.
Playing in South Australia at the elite level, just a few hours’ drive from his home town, is something he has so far enjoyed.
“It’s been awesome, probably better than what I thought to be honest,” he said.
“Having my family and even my friends and my partner’s friends to games is pretty special.
“It is something I didn’t think I would enjoy as much as I have.”
A breakout 2022 campaign with the Crows was highlighted by his match-winning goal after the siren in the Round 3 Showdown against Port Adelaide.
Dawson said that moment was something special.
“Growing up watching Showdowns and watching how competitive those games are, then playing in my first one and having a moment like that was really special to me,” he said.
“Then to also get my first win for the club as well.”
He was awarded the Showdown Medal for the game, with two goals and 24 disposals.
His statistics for the 2022 season are nothing short of impressive, averaging over 24 disposals, six marks and three tackles per game.
With Round 1 of the 2023 season less than a month away, Dawson’s legacy will soon begin as an AFL captain.
He said he hoped to have a positive impact on the Adelaide Football Club in his new role.
“I just want to leave the place in a better position than when I took over,” Dawson said.
“Sloaney has obviously done a fantastic job and so has Tex, so I just want to help the place keep growing and build a winning culture.”
The Crows face GWS in the season opener on March 19 and will hope to improve on last year’s 14th place finish.
