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Adelaide’s Luke Pedlar is the Round 16 Rising Star nominee after finally putting his injury concerns in the past and managing some consistent footy in his third season at AFL level.
Pedlar hails from Kingston, a little dot on the map about 300kms south-east of Adelaide and 40kms north of Robe.
He is something of an Adelaide local though, having ventured to the big smoke to board at Prince Alfred College in 2019. His draft year was significantly compromised by a combination of COVID restrictions and a shoulder injury which meant that when his name was called at pick 11 on draft night it was met with some surprise.
This surprise – mostly driven by queries about his durability – was allowed to fester for a couple of years as Pedlar was restricted to five games across 2021 and 2022 as he dealt with another shoulder reconstruction as well as the dreaded Osteitis Pubis.
Luke Pedlar of the Crows. (Photo by Sarah Reed/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
A big pre-season though saw the 183cm ‘bull’ selected for round one and he hasn’t looked back, playing in all but one match (after being suspended for a dangerous tackle on Port’s Dan Houston) and impressing with his hardness at the contest, his willingness to use his size in tight spaces, and his competitiveness in the forward line.
So far, he has not shown a consistent aptitude for the midfield – inside or outside – but given the injury challenges he has faced he can certainly be forgiven. What he has shown though is the potential to be a real crowd favourite with desperate tackling, rapid bursts from the front of stoppages and lovely left foot snaps for goal.
Winning the ball further afield will likely be the next step in his development, and the Crows do use him in the centre square relatively regularly so have clearly identified that he can be a weapon here both offensively and defensively.
Pedlar has consistently hit the scoreboard with 19 goals in his 14 games in 2023, including seven matches where he has kicked multiple goals.
He also lays nearly three tackles per game, illustrating a strong workrate in the forward half of the ground, and in the process ensuring that he keeps his spot in the team as the Crows look for a finals berth in 2023.
That goal kicking nous and forward pressure are undoubtedly much needed in the modern game, and especially so in a Crows forward line that contains Tex and Thilthorpe who, for all their positives, are now applying a great deal of defensive pressure on their opponents.
Chances of winning the Rising Star We are at the point of the year now where any nominee is exceedingly unlikely to even get a judge’s vote let alone win the whole thing, and Pedlar is no exception. He is not nearly as advanced or as influential as players like Sheezel, Ashcroft or Amiss, but he is playing his role in a top eight side and that shouldn’t be sneezed at.
Plays like … Is the game so bereft of left footed midfielders that for the second time this year I’m going to say a nominee reminds me of Jordan Lewis? He doesn’t appear to have the smarts of Lewis, but he is definitely quicker and probably has more natural forward craft. Maybe with a bit of Luke Parker sprinkled in?!
Ceiling Like a few other youngsters that have been nominated this year, Pedlar will need to win more of the ball at both the coalface and in transition if he is to become a bona fide midfielder and be spoken about amongst the better players of the competition. As a forward he could probably carve out a reasonable career, but given the Crows selected him so highly I am sure they have midfield plans for him.
