2024 Adelaide Football Club season

The 2024 Adelaide Football Club season will be the club's 34th season of senior competition in the Australian Football League (AFL). This is the Crows' second season captained by Jordan Dawson and their 5th year coached by Matthew Nicks. The senior men's season commenced on March 16 against at People First Stadium. The women's side will play their 9th season in the AFLW in 2024. The reserves side will play their 10th season in the SANFL in 2024, and their first captained by Jack Madgen.

Men's squad
''Players are listed by guernsey number, and 2024 statistics are for AFL regular season and finals series matches during the 2024 AFL season only. Career statistics include a player's complete AFL career, which, as a result, means that a player's debut and part or whole of their career statistics may be for another club. Statistics are correct as of round 18 (13 July 2024) and are taken from AFL Tables. Rory Sloane remains on the list despite his retirement in 2024.''

Squad changes
The following off-season changes were made to the squad prior to the 2024 season.

Round 1
Adelaide lost their first game of the 2024 AFL season to by 6 points in wet weather conditions. Gold Coast led for the entire match and Adelaide looked very poor, until a late fourth-quarter comeback spearheaded by Josh Rachele and former Sun Izak Rankine gave the Crows a glimpse of hope. Ultimately, the comeback was cut short by the final siren. Chris Burgess played his first game for the club after being traded from Gold Coast to Adelaide in the 2023 trade period. Jake Soligo came on as a tactical substitution for Lachlan Gollant in the third quarter.

Round 2
Round 2 marked Adelaide's first game scheduled on a Friday in almost two years. The last was on April 1, 2022, in which Adelaide won after the siren. Adelaide came into this game as favourites, despite losing their opening game and winning theirs. However, Adelaide lost by 19 points with another late comeback falling short due to wasted chances in front of goal. Coach Matthew Nicks was criticised post-game for continuing to play into Tom Stewart, who took a record-equalling 10 intercept marks in his 150th game. Lachlan Murphy played his 100th game. Ned McHenry was a tactical substitute who replaced Sam Berry.

Round 3
A rare public holiday match for Adelaide, they faced on Good Friday in round 3. It was their first time playing against Fremantle in Perth since 2019. This was the debut of Adelaide's new clash guernsey, marking the return of a classic design last worn in 2009. Competitive for most of the game, Adelaide were overrun in the final quarter to lose by 35 points. Wayne Milera ruptured his patella tendon during the third quarter. On the 31st of March, it was confirmed that Milera would miss the rest of the season.

Round 4
For the second consecutive year, Adelaide hosted the opening game of Gather Round, this time hosting. The game opened with a live performance from Australian indie rock band the Jungle Giants. The final margin of 15 points was flattering to the Crows, who were comprehensively defeated across the ground thanks to former Crow Simon Goodwin's coaching. Christian Petracca was the best player on the ground, while young Jake Soligo was impressive for Adelaide. Soligo was collected by a late challenge from Kysaiah Pickett. The former was uninjured but the latter received a brief suspension for the incident.

Round 5
Adelaide won their first game of the season in round 5, largely credited to Matthew Nicks and the variety in his midfield, rotating players such as Jordan Dawson and Rory Laird out and Jake Soligo and Izak Rankine in. A score review involving Carlton forward Matthew Owies and Crows defender Josh Worrell was called a behind, and there was insufficient evidence upon video review to overturn the decision. Lachlan Gollant was substituted off for the fourth quarter and replaced by Sam Berry, who kicked the winning goal with just over a minute of regulation time remaining. This was Adelaide's first win in Melbourne since 2021. Matt Crouch received a one-match ban for head-high contact on Jack Carroll. Will Hamill played his first game in over 600 days after extended complications with concussion injuries.

Round 6
Adelaide trailed for most of the game until Jake Soligo, who had a career-best game, kicked a goal in the third quarter to help the Crows lead for the first time of the game. Leading by as much as 19 points in that quarter, a late, albeit inaccurate Essendon comeback gave Adelaide their fifth loss of the season. Star Crow Izak Rankine escaped suspension for a dangerous tackle on Jye Caldwell. For the third time in less than a year, a late non-decision from the umpires cost Adelaide a chance at winning the game (the first against, and the second most famously against ). The morning following the game, the AFL conceded that a free kick should have been awarded to Taylor Walker for a tackle laid on Sam Draper, giving Walker a chance to kick a goal after the siren and win the game. Walker acknowledged that the umpiring decision was frustrating, but also concedes that the Crows' performance was "unacceptable".

Round 7
This game marked the debut of a special guernsey worn in commemoration for the AFL ANZAC Appeal Round. The guernsey design featured a triple-chevron and a bugler standing in front of a sunset gradient. The game was preceded by a ceremony commemorating the Anzacs, including renditions of the Last Post, God Defend New Zealand, and Advance Australia Fair. Luke Pedlar injured his shoulder in the first quarter and was replaced by Ned McHenry. The ANZAC Spirit Award was given to the player judged best-on-ground and embodied the courageous spirit of the Anzacs; Jordan Dawson.

Round 8
This Showdown clash was the first between the two clubs to be scheduled on a Thursday night. Injuries to Power players such as Aliir and Powell-Pepper, as well as a recent run of Showdown form, swayed the odds slightly in Adelaide's favour prior to the game. Draftee Dan Curtin made his long-awaited AFL debut, while Smith and Butts returned from injury. Prior to the game, the all-time Showdown record was tied at 27 apiece. The game commemorated Rory Sloane, who had announced his retirement earlier in the week. All players, coaches, and umpires gathered in the centre of the ground to honour the victims of domestic violence before the first bounce. Adelaide started the game fast, kicking five first-quarter goals, and in the second quarter they kept Port Adelaide goalless in a quarter for the first time of the year. Jason Horne-Francis kicked back-to-back goals on each side of three quarter time to cut the margin to under three goals, but the Crows overran the Power in the last. Jake Soligo won his first individual award with the Showdown Medal. The win gave Adelaide an overall lead over Port Adelaide, with 28 wins out of 55 meetings. Adelaide's home attendance of 52,106 was their biggest home attendance since 2016.

Round 9
Adelaide's round 9 match with was a tight contest from start to finish, with a cumulative margin of six points at the breaks. At half time, Matthew Nicks substituted second-gamer Daniel Curtin off for Luke Nankervis. The move was poorly timed, because early in the third quarter, defender Josh Worrell was injured and had to be removed from the match, leaving the Crows down a player on the bench. It was later confirmed that Worrell had broken his arm and would miss 8–12 weeks. Both sides gave up 3-goal leads in the final quarter, including two goals each to Callum Ah Chee and Darcy Fogarty. The final two scores of the game were potentially game-winning shots at goal, with behinds each to Harry Sharp and Jordan Dawson. The last three minutes were played with scores level, and the game ended in a draw — the second of the 2024 AFL season. It was Adelaide's first draw since 2017 (which was against at the MCG), their first at home, and the third in their history. It was Brisbane's first since 2009.

Round 10
For the first time in club history, Adelaide adopted a new name to commemorate Sir Doug Nicholls Round. Kuwarna (pronounced goo-wun-na) is the Kaurna translation for the word Crows. It comes with a special logo and an original guernsey designed by Izak Rankine and his cousin Harley Hall, celebrating their shared Ngarrindjeri heritage. The rebranding was done in consultation with the Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi Language Corporation. Rankine himself starred with 30 disposals and a late goal of the year contender dribbled from the boundary, but a Jordan De Goey set shot was the winning score for. With less than 30 seconds left, Rankine kicked the ball inside the forward 50, but was pinged for running too far. Controversy stirred as fans began to think it was the fourth game-costing decision in less than a year, but Fox Footy measured that Rankine did indeed run farther than his allocated 15 meters. As insult to injury, Rankine hurt his hamstring in that final play, ruling him out for the coming weeks. Lachlan Sholl was tactically substituted off for Ned McHenry in the third quarter.

Round 11
After injuring his hamstring against, Izak Rankine was withdrawn from Adelaide's squad. Elliott Himmelberg also was sore after the clash. They were replaced by Chris Burgess and Harry Schoenberg, who returned from a long-term injury. Berry and Borlase also came in for McHenry and Hamill. Jack Buckskin, a Kaurna and Narungga man, performed the Welcome to Country ceremony to commemorate Sir Doug Nicholls Round. Kuwarna started the game strong, kicking the first seven goals of the game. Jordan Dawson had 12 disposals and two goals in the first quarter. Waalitj Marawar, the name adopted by for the commemorative round, scored consecutive goals to start the second quarter, but the response was strong and swift from Kuwarna. Jake Soligo was substituted for Sam Berry at half time in order to preserve Soligo's health following a pre-season knee injury. The game continued as expected, and despite the effort and talent of number-one draft pick Harley Reid, Kuwarna dominated until the final siren, falling short of a 100-point margin by mere seconds.

Round 12
Prior to the match, captain Jordan Dawson had a minor complaint in his foot, but played anyway, possibly contributing to his uncharacteristically low-impact performance. kicked the first four goals of the game, and the Crows were not able to regain a lead, extending their winless streak at the MCG (starting in 2017 and spanning nine games) until at least 2025. At half time, Taylor Walker was substituted from the match with a seized back. He was replaced by Sam Berry. Matthew Nicks described the loss as "as bad as we've played all year".

Round 13
The Thursday night clash with loomed as another danger game for Adelaide. Richmond looked in good form against in round 12 despite their loss, and had gained Tim Taranto, Dion Prestia, and Shai Bolton back from injury, while Adelaide had a deflating loss in round 12 and had lost veterans Matt Crouch and Taylor Walker to injuries. Vice captain and ruckman Reilly O'Brien was also omitted for Kieran Strachan. This match was headlined by the first South Australia Big Freeze event, mirroring the King's Birthday match in Melbourne, which raises funds for motor neuron disease. Celebrities were dunked into ice-cold water as a fundraiser, including former Crows Rory Sloane and Andrew Jarman. Debutant Billy Dowling, James Borlase, and Strachan all kicked their first AFL goals, but five goals in a row for the 17th-seeded Richmond in the third quarter was too much to overcome. The performance resulted in heavy scrutiny towards Matthew Nicks and the entire club. Leigh Montagna agreed with coach Nicks' comments that the Crow's performance was "clearly lacking confident after a disappointing showing."

Round 14
With trying to avoid three consecutive losses before the bye, a lot of pressure was on the Adelaide Crows coming into this game against, who were ranked first on the AFL ladder at the time. Against all odds, Adelaide led at the first two breaks, thanks in part to two goals to the returning Izak Rankine and a miraculous goal from Brayden Cook. Joel Amartey of the Swans, whose previous best goal tally was four, kicked four in the second quarter to keep the Swans in the contest going into half time. He kicked another four in the third quarter, effectively leaving Adelaide behind in the contest. Amartey finished with a career-best nine goals, the most any player had kicked in a game up to that point in the season.

Round 15
Bye

Round 16
Following the mid-season bye, coach Nicks was confident for the clash against bogey-team, who the Crows had only beaten once up to this point of Nicks' four-year tenure. When defender Chayce Jones suffered an injury at training the day before the game, a late change was made to include Zac Taylor in the game day squad for his debut. He was the substitute, and came on for Brayden Cook at three-quarter-time.

Round 19
For the second time of the year, Adelaide faced Essendon on a Friday night, this time seeking revenge for their round 6 clash. Nick Murray came off early with fears he may have re-injured his ACL, and was substituted for Brayden Cook. Zac Taylor kicked his first AFL goal as one of eight consecutive second-quarter goals for Adelaide. Essendon responded with the next five goals in a high-scoring affair. Ben Keays, who kicked a career-best five goals, assisted Josh Rachele in kicking a last-minute goal to lead by four points. Adelaide won by two points in an upset victory to keep their slim hopes for finals qualification alive.

AFL Award nominations

 * 2024 AFL Rising Star Nomination – Luke Nankervis (Round 13)

Milestones

 * Round 1 – Chris Burgess (club debut)
 * Round 2 – Lachlan Murphy (100 games)
 * Round 3 – Brodie Smith (250 games)
 * Round 5 – Jordan Dawson (50 club games)
 * Round 5 – Izak Rankine (100 career goals)
 * Round 7 – Mitch Hinge (50 career games)
 * Round 8 – Dan Curtin (AFL debut)
 * Round 8 – Matt Crouch (150 games)
 * Round 9 – Josh Rachele (50 goals)
 * Round 13 – Billy Dowling (AFL debut)
 * Round 13 – Jake Soligo (50 games)
 * Round 16 – Zac Taylor (AFL debut)
 * Round 17 – Sam Berry (50 games)
 * Round 17 – Josh Rachele (50 games)
 * Round 18 – Hugh Bond (AFL debut)
 * Round 18 – Nick Murray (50 games)
 * Round 18 – Ben Keays (100 club games)

Reserves squad
''Excludes AFL-listed players. Updated as of round 12, 2024.''

Regular season
SANFL fixture Crowd numbers