ADELAIDE youngster Jack Gunston is full of surprises - just ask coach Neil Craig.

Gunston, who was selected with pick No.29 in last year’s NAB AFL Draft, arrived at West Lakes with ‘project player’ written all over him.

Barely 18, he was the youngest player on the Crows’ senior list, and his tiny 74kg frame indicated he was in need of some serious time in the weights room before he would be ready to mix it with the big boys in the AFL.

As he adjusted to the training load, he missed a chunk of the pre-season with niggling soft-tissue injuries and thought making Central District’s league side would be a big enough challenge in his first year at the club.

But after stringing together several good weeks on the track in Adelaide’s injury-plagued pre-season, the talented forward started to feature more in the coaches’ short-term calculations.

He became the first of the ‘09 draftees to make his Crows debut in the NAB Challenge game against Collingwood in Alice Springs, and did more than make up the numbers in the 29-man team, kicking two of the club’s eight goals.

“It was totally unexpected,” Gunston said of the match.

“I wasn’t expecting to play any games with Adelaide that early, even if it was just a practice game, but I guess it shows what happens when you train well.”

The surprises kept coming for Gunston when he was selected to play his first game in the season proper, against the Brisbane Lions at AAMI Stadium in round nine.

Again, he looked more than capable, kicking a goal on debut.

“That game was even more unexpected,” Gunston said.

“I think I was an emergency for the two weeks before the game against Brisbane. I got the call from Craigy on the Thursday. He told me I was playing and I was pretty rapt.

“I didn’t know what to say … I was speechless. It was a great experience and it was actually easier than I thought it was going to be.”

Gunston was squeezed out of the side the following week but remained upbeat, considering his opportunity against the Lions to be a bonus in the first year of his AFL apprenticeship.

As Adelaide found form and fitness, he went back to Central District not expecting to add to his games tally.

He shifted his focus to holding his place in the Bulldogs side and joining the lengthy list of premiership players at the Ponderosa.

“If I don’t get another game I’ll me more than happy to take my one AFL game this year and look forward to next year,” he said.

But Gunston, who has put on 7kg since November, will happily put his SANFL premiership dream on hold this week after receiving another unexpected call up to the Crows side.

He played as a forward on debut, but grew up playing in the midfield before a growth spurt saw him develop as a key position player.

And Craig said he was keen to have a look at the former Sandringham Dragon on the wing.

“I like Jack’s talent. I don’t know where he’ll end up playing long-term, but he’s going to be a good size,” Craig said.

“We recruited him as guy that will have that flexibility up forward and in defence in particular, but the way [Central District coach] Roy Laird has been able to work with him and put him on the wing has been a bit of an eye-opener for us as well.”