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Laird hails Strachan’s selfless move to allow Crows to sign SSP ruckman McAndrew
Lachlan Geleit • February 26th, 2025 7:47 pm
Like many of his Adelaide teammates, Rory Laird had no idea of Kieran Strachan’s decision to sit out 2025 to allow the club to sign SSP ruckman Lachlan McAndrew last week.
Strachan’s call to move to the inactive was made after he suffered an acute navicular stress fracture in his right foot. After having surgery in December, the 29-year-old suffered another stress fracture in his heel which would have ruled him out for a large portion of the 2025 season.
Given the Crows were set to have little ruck depth while he recovered, Strachan made the selfless call, with former Swan McAndrew added to the club’s list after impressing at West Lakes having initially signed for Adelaide’s SANFL side.
Laird hailed Strachan for his team-first mentality, and he’s sure 24-year-old McAndrew can make an impact based on what he’s shown at training.
“I had no idea. I think a lot of guys were sort of in the dark about it,” Laird told SEN The Run Home with Kymbo & The Rooch.
“It's obviously something that the Kieran and the front office spoke about. It’s a tough one for him because he was just coming back from an injury and then it's gone into another long-term injury.
“It’s opened up a spot for Lachlan McAndrew to come into the team and he’s been training really well, he’s been really competitive with Reilly O’Brien this summer and it’s really well deserved.
“From what I've heard and I'm sure knowing Kieran and the way he goes about it, it must have been pretty serious … he's had a lot of issues with that foot,
“For him to do that is amazing and we wish him all the best, he’s a ripping bloke.”
Following Mark Bickley’s assessment of McAndrew’s standout intra-club game, Laird detailed just how the former Swan and No. 1 ruck Reilly O’Brien have been pushing to get the best out of each other over the summer.
“He's a big boy and he sort of slotted in pretty seamlessly in terms of how quickly he came over. They asked him to train, and he was there pretty much within the week,” Laird said.
“He’s slotted in really well and then in some intra-club matches and practice simulation training he's really stood up and taken it up to R.O.B (Reilly O’Brien).
“The way R.O.B’s gone about it has probably helped him as well, it’s pushed him along and he (O’Brien) is in some good form as well.”
Adelaide’s season kicks off with a Round 1 clash against St Kilda at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, March 16.
Photo: afc.com.au
