Matt Crouch

Biography

AFC Debut Number: 198               AFC Debut Game:  Round 3 v Sydney, 2014

AFC Career Guernsey Numbers: 44 2014-2017 72 games     5  2016-25   92 games

The younger brother of Crows midfielder Brad Crouch, Matt was well known to the club’s recruiters by the time his draft year arrived in 2013.

A natural ball winner and stoppage expert from Beaufort, Crouch played seven TAC Cup games for North Ballarat in 2013. He averaged an incredible 37 disposals (16 contested), seven clearances and five tackles. He also represented Vic Country at the U18 national championships.

The talented former cricketer was drafted by Adelaide with pick No.23 in 2013 and after  a tough pre-season had an impact in his first year. Matt made his AFL debut in Round Three against Sydney as the medical substitute and finished the game with 18 disposals in the number 44 guernsey. He received a Rising Star nomination after his third game when he collected 28 disposals until subbed at three quarter time. In all he played eight AFL games and averaged a whopping 33 disposals across 10 SANFL games. Matt played AFL alongside Brad in the last round of the 2014 season.

The younger Crouch won the Mark Bickley Emerging Talent award in 2015, when he overcame pre-season ankle injury to play 17 AFL games, including two finals.

He continued to grow his game in 2016, when he became the youngest Crows to have more than 600 possessions in a season. He also won a Showdown Medal for a best-on-ground performance in a win over Port Adelaide and finished seventh in the club champion votes.

It was 2017 when he became one of the competition’s best inside midfielders, winning the Malcolm Blight Medal as Club Champion after putting together one of the best seasons by a Crow.  He earned All-Australian selection and broke records, averaging 33 disposals per game at a then-record 825 disposals. He finished the season ranked top 10 in the League for disposals (first), hard-ball gets (second), contested possessions (fourth), score involvements (sixth) and clearances (eighth). He was one of Adelaide’s best in the grand final loss.

Matt switched from No 44 to No 5 for the 2018 season and had another strong year in Adelaide’s engine room, averaging 32.2 disposals per game across his 18 appearances. He finished runner-up to Rory Laird in the Malcolm Blight Medal.

Crouch brought up his 100-game milestone in the 2019 Round 13 win over Richmond. He had a delayed start to the next pre-season but was again one of the competition’s leading ballwinners in 16 games, finishing fourth in the best-and-fairest.

But Matt did not play any AFL premiership games in 2021 after pre-season hip surgery and then ongoing groin issues.

The 2022 season was challenging. He played 11 AFL games but was dropped back to SANFL twice and he was on the outer for most of 2023 before rewarded for his SANFL dominance. Matt finished the season in the AFL, adjusted his game, averaged 29.1 disposals per game and had a starring role in a Showdown win with a career-high 12 clearances.

Shoulder surgery kept him out for ten games in the middle of the 2024 season but he still finished equal eighth in the best and fairest after averaging 29.9 disposals, 12.5 contested possessions and 5.9 clearances from 15 games.

Matt started the 2025 season in good form, polling a Brownlow vote in the opening round win against St Kilda. But after six games he was sidelined by a hip injury. Despite returning to play in the SANFL late in the minor round, he announced his retirement before the AFL finals following medical advice.

Matt Crouch holds the Club record for most disposals in a season (825 in 2017) and has three of the top four disposal records in a single game for the Crows. In addition to 164 AFL games, he played 37 SANFL games for the Crows. He was awarded Life Membership in 2023.