Last weekend the AFL came to town with 21 hopefuls and “a recovered from rolling his ankle” Harrison Petty arriving for the combine at Prince Alfred College. Of the 22, four were unable to do the testing due to injury.

The 20-metre sprint was up first and the South Australian boys flew, with five getting under three seconds – after only 13 players at the National Combine hitting that mark. Midfield powerhouses Mitch Crowden recorded 2.92 seconds and Stefan Giro 2.93 seconds recorded the quickest times as did Josh Smithson as a mid/fwd also scorched at 2.92 seconds and former AFL player Dom Barry with 2.93 seconds.

For the agility test, medium defender Brodie Carroll set the best time cracking the eight-second mark with 7.92 seconds, and Dom Barry at 8.06 seconds would have had them both top two nationally. The South Australian tate combine boys filling six of the top 14 times nationally.

For the vertical jumps there were also had some impressive performances from South Australians. The 175cm Crowden leapt 81cm, placing him third nationally. Carroll recorded 74cm and Smithson, Giro, Bryce Denham and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher all jumping 73cm. Again, six of the best 14 jumps nationally were recorded in Adelaide.

In the running vertical jumps right: 195cm defender Zerk-Thatcher had an impressive 95cm, placing him third nationally, and Crowden’s 91cm would have had him fifth overall. In the running vertical jumps left: 190cm Jake Weidemann (son of Wayne) achieved 90cm, and Crowden achieved 89cm placing them fifth and sixth nationally.

The boys then finished off with the yo-yo test. Running machine Giro pushed out an impressive 22.3 level to be placed equal second nationally, with Weidemann and Carroll with a 21.6 to be equal eighth. In summary there were a couple of players whose performance may have changed expectations. Both Crowden and Smithson both displayed elite pace, as well outstanding jumping and agility.

Top five in each test:

20-metre sprint:
1.Mitch Crowden 2.92 seconds
2.Josh Smithson 2.92
3. Stefan Giro 2.93
4. Don Barry 2.93
5. Liam Denton 2.97

Yo-yo test:
1. Stefan Giro 22.3 level
2. Jake Weidemann 21.6
2. Brodie Carroll 21.6
4. Mitch Crowden 21.3
5. Harry Petty 21.2

Agility test:
1. Brodie Carroll 7.92 seconds
2. Dom Barry 8.06
3. Josh Smithson 8.14
4. Stefan Giro 8.21
5. Mitch Crowden 8.26

Standing vertical jump:
1. Mitch Crowden 81cm
2. Brodie Carroll 74cm
3. Josh Smithson 73cm
3. Stefan Giro 73cm
3.Bryce Denham 73cm
3. Brandon Zerk-Thatcher 73cm

Running vertical jump – right:
1. Brandon Zerk-Thatcher 95cm
2. Mitch Crowden 91cm
3. Brodie Carroll 87cm
4. Stefan Giro 85cm
5. Oscar Chapman 84cm

Running vertical jump – left:
1. Jake Weidemann 90cm
2. Mitch Crowden 89cm
3. Josh Smithson 88cm
4. Brandon Zerk-Thatcher 87cm
5. Bryce Denham 85cm