HE DOESN'T have the profile afforded past Adelaide teammates Tony Modra, Mark Ricciuto or Darren Jarman, but those who really know their AFL, regardless of club affiliation, recognise Tyson Edwards as one of the genuine elite players of the modern era.
That's a fair endorsement for a boy who grew up in the small Mallee town of Wynarka (about 120km south-east of Adelaide) and followed older brothers Duane and Kym to the local club trying to get a game and then having to deal with the fact he was usually half the size of his opponents.
That's a fair endorsement for a boy who grew up in the small Mallee town of Wynarka (about 120km south-east of Adelaide) and followed older brothers Duane and Kym to the local club trying to get a game and then having to deal with the fact he was usually half the size of his opponents.
Or for the teenager who never gave himself credit for his ability when he moved to the city and joined SANFL club West Adelaide in the early 1990s, and later had to be convinced he belonged at AFL level.
Belong he certainly does, and this weekend against Essendon at Docklands, Edwards is on target to become yet another Crow to play 300 games, a remarkable feat for such a young club. (Edwards will join Ricciuto, Ben Hart and Andrew McLeod).
In and out of the team in his early days (after being picked in the second round of the 1995 pre-season draft), Edwards has emerged from that shaky start to become one of the most damaging and efficient midfielders in the competition, producing without some of the headlines that have accompanied others of his type.
His commitment to the ball and to contests, supreme fitness, football smarts and neat disposal skills have set him apart and made him one of those rare players who simply gets better with age.
From his nervous days under South Australian legend Neil Kerley in the SANFL and having learned the game under four coaches at Westlakes, Edwards has grown in stature and confidence to be, quite frankly, better now at 32 than he was at 22.
"I played Teal Cup (an under-17 state carnival that preceded the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships) and the last two league games for Westies in '93, so I only had Kerls (Kerley) for a while, but he scared the hell out of me," Edwards says.
"His speeches before the game were all about the team, but they were made with so much passion that it was very intimidating for a boy from the country.
"The next year, I played the majority of the season with West Adelaide and was invited to do the pre-season with the Crows."
Read the full version of Shane McNally's story in the round 10 edition of the AFL Record, available at all grounds this weekend.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
