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I am pretty sure that Radar Reilly will enjoy this 
‘Goody’ says ‘Radar’ is on the ball
Alan Shiell
afc.com.au
4:43:23 PM Tue 6 April, 2004
Ask any Adelaide player for his thoughts on the club’s young players and Brent Reilly’s name is always one of the first mentioned. And the vibes are always positive, too.
Watch ‘Radar’ running and weaving in his distinctive, somewhat regal style, and executing his silky skills at training and/or in a match, and you know why he has created such a big impression already, even though he has played only seven AFL matches – one in 2002 and six last season.
But good looks are one thing, commitment is another. And it is a combination of the two that has convinced the Crows’ hard heads that Reilly, 20, has what it takes to become a seriously good footballer.
As Adelaide’s 2000 club champion, a premiership player in 1997 and 1998, an All-Australian in 2000 and 2001, and a 27-year-old veteran of 136 AFL matches over the past seven seasons, Simon Goodwin is amply qualified to provide an assessment of Reilly.
“I think the best way to sum up Brent is his desire to be successful,” says Goodwin, one of Adelaide’s deputy vice-captains (with Andrew McLeod). “He’s a real competitor who wants to be one of the elite players in the competition.
“And all the indications are that that’s certainly the direction he’s heading because of the way he trains and the way he prepares himself to play the game. I think he has a very bright future. He’s a good size, he moves very well and he has very good skills.
“His fitness levels have improved out of sight over the last two years. He puts in so much work on the track. With his dedication to be successful, there’s only one way he can go.”
Reilly was unaware of such praise when we spoke recently but, of course, he would have been flattered by it, particularly because he regards Goodwin and Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto as his role models.
He probably would have been embarrassed, too, because he is such an impressive young man; honest but humble, realistic and totally devoted to getting the best out of himself to try to ensure he has a long AFL career.
His credentials were about as first-class as they could be when Adelaide claimed him with its first pick (No. 12 overall) at the 2001 National AFL Draft. He had shone for Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup throughout 2001 and also for the Victorian Metropolitan team that defeated Victorian Country in the final of that year’s national under-18 championships, after which he was named on a wing in the All-Australian team. A broken collarbone prevented him from playing in the Cannons’ team that beat Bendigo Pioneers by 37 points in the TAC Cup grand final.
Another broken collarbone interrupted his promising start to last season. He played in all four matches of Adelaide’s successful Wizard Cup campaign and also in the first four regular-season matches before he suffered the injury in the opening minutes of the Sturt-Central District SANFL match at Adelaide Oval.
He eventually fought his way back into the Crows’ team for the round-22 match against Port Adelaide and the second elimination final against West Coast at AAMI Stadium, and finished the season in the Sturt side that lost its first final.
Reilly recalls last season as “a good stepping stone” and has his heart and mind set on making many more AFL appearances this season.
“I’ve had a pretty big pre-season again and I’ve tried to make the most of every opportunity I’ve had,” he says. “I want to break into the midfield if I can. There’s a spot there with Bicks (Mark Bickley) gone. I want to be a regular player in the midfield and do my best for the club.
“Fitness-wise, I’m up there. I’m still young. I’m not at my peak yet but hopefully during the next three or four years I’ll be up there running with Goody. And Bodey (Matthew Bode), Bird (Brett Burton) and Gags (James Gallagher) are pretty fit. I’ll try to get up there this year. I’m still a few seconds off but hopefully I can be one of the fittest at the club.
“I came over at 75 kilograms and I’m now about 83 kilograms. I’ve put on a kilo this year. I’m feeling physically stronger. And I’ve grown a centimetre (to 184½).”
Fitness really is a serious business. Reilly, Bode, Gallagher, Chris Ladhams and Michael Doughty are the self-appointed members of their own “jockeys’ club”. They have skinfold tests once a month and the loser – the fattest – “wins” a plaque, complete with a chocolate insignia, that is placed in his locker as a grim reminder. It’s no secret that the Crows have had a punishing pre-season preparation under fitness coach Stephen Schwerdt.
“We young fellows started early November and the first couple of weeks were probably the hardest I’ve ever done – pure running with only a bit of ballwork,” Reilly says. “It’s good, though, because I’ve got used to it. But it’s still been pretty tough. That bike riding at Strathalbyn – about 50 kilometres – was one of the toughest things I’ve done.”
Reilly, who attended Essendon/Keilor College for years 11 and 12 after doing years 7 to 10 at Gisborne, admits to missing his family – his parents (his father is a plumber with his own business) and his sister, Lauren, 18, who live at Romsey, near Sunbury.
“Dad has come to terms with it,” he says. “Mum hasn’t. Mum still talks about me going home and all that stuff. They come over a fair bit. It’s pretty tough. It was tougher in my first year here. I missed home and had a lot of homesickness. I get homesick every now and again. I just ring home or I can ring Goody or Roo and have a chat to them about it. And the club’s been great.
“Jacob Schuback’s a good mate. He came over with me in ’91. And I’m living with Kris Massie at his place at Grange now. We get along pretty well. It was good to get out independently and have to do all that cooking and washing for yourself.
“I’m good mates with Andrew Welsh, who plays for Essendon. Every time I go home we catch up. He always talks about me going home. But I love all the boys over here. I’ve made some good mates. I want to give something back to the club because they picked me up.”
Reilly, one of a few Crows studying for a business computing certificate, hopes to eventually “own a business and get some land and build a house and lease it out for investment money”. “I haven’t got enough yet but hopefully down the track I can do all that stuff,” he says.
Meanwhile, there’s a football career to establish. And, if he ever gets enough time, there’s a golf handicap to trim back to 11, which his was a couple of years ago.
“I’m off about 18 or 20 now,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind getting membership of a club so I could get my handicap back.” It’s reassuring to meet an honest “burglar”.
‘Goody’ says ‘Radar’ is on the ball
Alan Shiell
afc.com.au
4:43:23 PM Tue 6 April, 2004
Ask any Adelaide player for his thoughts on the club’s young players and Brent Reilly’s name is always one of the first mentioned. And the vibes are always positive, too.
Watch ‘Radar’ running and weaving in his distinctive, somewhat regal style, and executing his silky skills at training and/or in a match, and you know why he has created such a big impression already, even though he has played only seven AFL matches – one in 2002 and six last season.
But good looks are one thing, commitment is another. And it is a combination of the two that has convinced the Crows’ hard heads that Reilly, 20, has what it takes to become a seriously good footballer.
As Adelaide’s 2000 club champion, a premiership player in 1997 and 1998, an All-Australian in 2000 and 2001, and a 27-year-old veteran of 136 AFL matches over the past seven seasons, Simon Goodwin is amply qualified to provide an assessment of Reilly.
“I think the best way to sum up Brent is his desire to be successful,” says Goodwin, one of Adelaide’s deputy vice-captains (with Andrew McLeod). “He’s a real competitor who wants to be one of the elite players in the competition.
“And all the indications are that that’s certainly the direction he’s heading because of the way he trains and the way he prepares himself to play the game. I think he has a very bright future. He’s a good size, he moves very well and he has very good skills.
“His fitness levels have improved out of sight over the last two years. He puts in so much work on the track. With his dedication to be successful, there’s only one way he can go.”
Reilly was unaware of such praise when we spoke recently but, of course, he would have been flattered by it, particularly because he regards Goodwin and Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto as his role models.
He probably would have been embarrassed, too, because he is such an impressive young man; honest but humble, realistic and totally devoted to getting the best out of himself to try to ensure he has a long AFL career.
His credentials were about as first-class as they could be when Adelaide claimed him with its first pick (No. 12 overall) at the 2001 National AFL Draft. He had shone for Calder Cannons in the TAC Cup throughout 2001 and also for the Victorian Metropolitan team that defeated Victorian Country in the final of that year’s national under-18 championships, after which he was named on a wing in the All-Australian team. A broken collarbone prevented him from playing in the Cannons’ team that beat Bendigo Pioneers by 37 points in the TAC Cup grand final.
Another broken collarbone interrupted his promising start to last season. He played in all four matches of Adelaide’s successful Wizard Cup campaign and also in the first four regular-season matches before he suffered the injury in the opening minutes of the Sturt-Central District SANFL match at Adelaide Oval.
He eventually fought his way back into the Crows’ team for the round-22 match against Port Adelaide and the second elimination final against West Coast at AAMI Stadium, and finished the season in the Sturt side that lost its first final.
Reilly recalls last season as “a good stepping stone” and has his heart and mind set on making many more AFL appearances this season.
“I’ve had a pretty big pre-season again and I’ve tried to make the most of every opportunity I’ve had,” he says. “I want to break into the midfield if I can. There’s a spot there with Bicks (Mark Bickley) gone. I want to be a regular player in the midfield and do my best for the club.
“Fitness-wise, I’m up there. I’m still young. I’m not at my peak yet but hopefully during the next three or four years I’ll be up there running with Goody. And Bodey (Matthew Bode), Bird (Brett Burton) and Gags (James Gallagher) are pretty fit. I’ll try to get up there this year. I’m still a few seconds off but hopefully I can be one of the fittest at the club.
“I came over at 75 kilograms and I’m now about 83 kilograms. I’ve put on a kilo this year. I’m feeling physically stronger. And I’ve grown a centimetre (to 184½).”
Fitness really is a serious business. Reilly, Bode, Gallagher, Chris Ladhams and Michael Doughty are the self-appointed members of their own “jockeys’ club”. They have skinfold tests once a month and the loser – the fattest – “wins” a plaque, complete with a chocolate insignia, that is placed in his locker as a grim reminder. It’s no secret that the Crows have had a punishing pre-season preparation under fitness coach Stephen Schwerdt.
“We young fellows started early November and the first couple of weeks were probably the hardest I’ve ever done – pure running with only a bit of ballwork,” Reilly says. “It’s good, though, because I’ve got used to it. But it’s still been pretty tough. That bike riding at Strathalbyn – about 50 kilometres – was one of the toughest things I’ve done.”
Reilly, who attended Essendon/Keilor College for years 11 and 12 after doing years 7 to 10 at Gisborne, admits to missing his family – his parents (his father is a plumber with his own business) and his sister, Lauren, 18, who live at Romsey, near Sunbury.
“Dad has come to terms with it,” he says. “Mum hasn’t. Mum still talks about me going home and all that stuff. They come over a fair bit. It’s pretty tough. It was tougher in my first year here. I missed home and had a lot of homesickness. I get homesick every now and again. I just ring home or I can ring Goody or Roo and have a chat to them about it. And the club’s been great.
“Jacob Schuback’s a good mate. He came over with me in ’91. And I’m living with Kris Massie at his place at Grange now. We get along pretty well. It was good to get out independently and have to do all that cooking and washing for yourself.
“I’m good mates with Andrew Welsh, who plays for Essendon. Every time I go home we catch up. He always talks about me going home. But I love all the boys over here. I’ve made some good mates. I want to give something back to the club because they picked me up.”
Reilly, one of a few Crows studying for a business computing certificate, hopes to eventually “own a business and get some land and build a house and lease it out for investment money”. “I haven’t got enough yet but hopefully down the track I can do all that stuff,” he says.
Meanwhile, there’s a football career to establish. And, if he ever gets enough time, there’s a golf handicap to trim back to 11, which his was a couple of years ago.
“I’m off about 18 or 20 now,” he says. “I wouldn’t mind getting membership of a club so I could get my handicap back.” It’s reassuring to meet an honest “burglar”.
Thankyou regardless 
