A trio of father-sons took the field for the Crows Academies NGA team in an under-14 Showdown against Port Adelaide at Woodville Oval on Saturday, as the Club’s latest crows game also closed out the third instalment of its Be a Pro program.

Max Doughty, Tom Shirley and Xavier Bickley all lined up in the next generation clash, with the Crows Academies falling 5.3. to 13.5. against Port Adelaide’s side. Mitchell Semmler was named best on ground for the Crows Academies, while Chace Warren and Max Doughty were also among the standouts in a match designed to showcase the next wave of South Australian talent.

Doughty is the son of Michael Doughty, Shirley is the son of Robert Shirley and Bickley is the son of Mark Bickley. Their appearance capped the third instalment of a program run with the SANFL to help talented footballers from next-generation aligned clubs develop their game and learn the off-field demands that come with elite sport.

The Crows Academies are drawn from NGA-aligned SANFL clubs including Central District, Glenelg, North Adelaide and Sturt, and also include sons from the Club’s Second Generation Academies. Jarrod Meers said the Be a Pro program gives emerging South Australian players important development opportunities both on and off the field, adding that the annual under-14 NGA Academies Showdown is a chance to showcase the talent coming through the system while teaching the standards and rigour required to reach the next level. He said the club wished all the boys the best of luck as they move through the pathway.

There was more immediate senior-team news on Saturday too. Kuwarna senior coach Matthew Nicks said 36-year-old forward Taylor Walker would line up with the Club’s SANFL team, ending his layoff after missing the past two AFL matches with a minor hamstring strain and returning to competitive football through the State League. For Adelaide, the day linked the future and the present in the same way the crows game did on the field: one group learning how to get there, and one veteran taking the next step back.

Walker’s run in the SANFL will be watched closely by supporters ahead of Adelaide’s round 10 meeting with North Melbourne, but the stronger sign from Woodville Oval was the depth of the Club’s next wave. Saturday’s showdown did not just finish the Be a Pro series. It showed exactly why the pathway exists.