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Matt Crouch (footballer)
Matt Crouch (born 21 April 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club with pick 23 in the 2013 national draft. Crouch won the Malcolm Blight Medal in 2017, a year where Adelaide finished first on the ladder.[1] He is the younger brother of former teammate Brad Crouch.[2] AFL careerCrouch made his AFL debut for the Crows in round 3 of the 2014 season, collecting 18 disposals in a heavy loss to Sydney.[3] Crouch earned a nomination for the AFL Rising Star after having 28 disposals to three quarter time against Greater Western Sydney, at which point he was substituted out of the game.[4] In total Crouch played eight matches in his first year in the AFL, and averaged 33 possessions and 8 clearances in ten matches for Adelaide's reserves side, polling 12 votes in the Magarey Medal.[5] Crouch had an interrupted 2015 pre-season due to an ankle injury suffered just prior to Christmas.[6] He recovered to have a breakout year, playing 17 games including Adelaide's two finals and averaging 21 possessions. At the end of the season he was rewarded with the club's Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award.[7] He also signed a three-year contract with Adelaide after the 2015 season, keeping him at the club until 2018.[8] In 2017, Crouch lifted his game to a new level, averaging 33 disposals per game and finishing second in the AFL for disposals after the regular season, and during the finals broke Dane Swan's AFL record for most disposals in a complete season with 825. He was selected in the 2017 All-Australian team and nominated by his club for the AFL Players Association MVP Award.[9] In late August, Crouch was named The Age's Player of the Year and won the Malcolm Blight Medal as Adelaide Football Club's best and fairest winner for 2017.[10][1] In January 2018 Crouch re-signed with the Crows until the end of 2021.[11] Crouch sat out the 2021 AFL season due to a groin injury. After speculation that Matt Crouch would depart the Crows with his free agency rights, Crouch re-signed at Adelaide for two years, keeping him at the club until the end of 2023. Crouch returned to the AFL in round one of the 2022 AFL season against the Fremantle Dockers and did so with great success, collecting a cool 30 disposals.[12] In 2024, Crouch was back to his best form, averaging 30 disposals for the year. His season looked to be cut short after requiring shoulder surgery from an injury sustained in the round 12 loss to Hawthorn.[13] However, Crouch made a miraculous recovery and returned to the side in round 21 against Geelong.[14] Following the Crows' loss to Port Adelaide in the round 23 Showdown, Crouch was seen on video knocking off the hat of a supporter. A police investigation was conducted regarding allegations that the interaction could be classed as assault, but all charges were dropped.[15][16] Statistics
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Matt Crouch (footballer).
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