Building the Next Beast: Dan Curtin’s Wing Role and the Crows’ Long Game for 2026
In a season where Adelaide soared from 2024’s 15th-place doldrums to clinch the minor premiership, few stories captured the Crows’ resurgence like that of Dan Curtin.
The 20-year-old utility, snared at Pick Eight in the 2023 AFL Draft, arrived as a versatile giant with the intercepting smarts of a key defender and the endurance of a midfielder. But after a debut year when Crows fans were screaming out for him to be played more (he notched seven games), it was 2025 that saw him locked into a wing role.
And that is where Curtin found his feet in the league.
Given freedom in the role, he played all 25 games, averaging 13.36 disposals, and 4.52 marks.
But those numbers were not the beauty of Curtin’s role. He got better as the season progressed, with his contested marking, and ability to create mismatches on his wing, giving the Crows an enormous advantage.
The question is now – do they persist with him in the wing role, or do they see him as something much, much more?
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