INDIVIDUAL accolades for Adelaide stars like Rory Laird will come when the team starts winning more games and clicks into a period of success, according to coach Matthew Nicks.
Laird has produced two excellent seasons as a midfielder and earned selection in the extended Therabody AFL All-Australian squad without breaking into the final 22 in the past two years.
His standing at the Crows could hardly be higher after back-to-back club champion awards and top-three finishes in seven of the past eight seasons, with his two All-Australian selections coming as a defender in 2017 and 2018.
But wider acknowledgement of the 29-year-old's midfield craft, having led the AFL for average disposals (33.0) last year and ranked No.8 for score involvements (7.2), has not necessarily followed.
"I often talk to Lairdy about All-Australian, because he's had a couple of fantastic years, really strong years as a midfielder," Nicks told AFL.com.au.
"(But) there's something in winning games of footy that I believe goes strongly towards being one of the best players in the competition, as it should do.
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"Therefore, the midfielders who are selected as All-Australians often come from winning teams, and there's a reason for that. They play a style of footy – offence, defence, transition – that is just connected and works well.
"We want to improve and Lairdy wants to continue to improve himself, but make sure the team improves around him. With wins may come that reward for the individual. That's the sort of space we're in at the moment."
Laird's 2018 selection in the All-Australian team was the most recent for the Crows, with champion small forward Eddie Betts and midfielder Matt Crouch earning selection alongside Laird in the club's Grand Final year of 2017.
There is new talent emerging at West Lakes, however, with key forward Darcy Fogarty, new captain Jordan Dawson, midfielder/forwards Josh Rachele and Izak Rankine and onballer Berry among those right now who have All-Australian potential.
Berry has grown as a player over the off-season and was excellent in the Crows' match simulation against Fremantle last Friday night, with indications pointing towards a strong season from the 21-year-old.
After leading the AFL for tackles (9.5) last season, Nicks said Berry had been sharpening his offensive game over the summer and working to become a more rounded midfielder.
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"He has made so much ground in a really short time, but he's still got a fair bit to work on … execution by foot is the big one for him," Nicks said.
"He can drive himself out of stoppage and find himself shoulders out going one-versus-none into the forward line. The next step is for him to be able to execute that connection piece.
"He can't do any more work on it, so it's just a matter of now trusting himself and continuing to work on that as we go through this season."
The pre-season work for Berry has included a lot of forward-half delivery to key forwards Taylor Walker and Fogarty.
He has spoken this pre-season about feeling physically stronger and more confident, with the Crows now anticipating more attacking opportunities for the midfielder.
"He loves the combat side of the game. It's really just the ability to get his spear sharpened a little and I'm confident he'll do that," Nicks said.
"When you first get in the game, the game is fast, and he was he was probably a little bit more reactive to some of the opposition who had played a lot more games of footy.
"So what you saw with the competitive part was him not quite reacting as quick and being second to the ball. But he's happy to tackle you, he'll wrap you up.
"What we're seeing now is him being first to a few balls and trusting himself with his strength and power. That will continue to evolve."
