No guarantees for injured Crow

ADELAIDE coach Neil Craig has described young wingman Brodie Martin's development this season as exceptional, but says there are no guarantees the former rookie will be offered a new contract with the club next season.

Martin, 20, was elevated to the senior list three weeks ago following some standout performances for Sturt and made his debut against St Kilda in round 16, but suffered a severe knee injury last weekend against Port Adelaide that required a full knee reconstruction.

He had shown promise in the Showdown before landing awkwardly on his left knee, and while the lightning-quick ball winner returned to the field, he was diagnosed with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on Monday.

Martin, who represented South Australia in the state game against Western Australia earlier this year, had a reconstruction on Tuesday night and has returned home to Meningie to recuperate.

Craig said Martin had given himself every opportunity to be at West Lakes beyond 2009.

"Brodie is obviously disappointed as a young guy who's come from nowhere really," Craig said on Friday.

"Without giving anyone any guarantees – we can't because we don't know what's going to happen until the end of the year – he couldn't have done any more under the circumstances which he now finds himself in.

"He wouldn't be lying in bed saying, 'God, I wish I could've played a couple of games and showed something'. He's given himself he best opportunity to stay on our list."

Adelaide was forced to make decisions on the futures of Brett Burton and Trent Hentschel when they suffered similar injury setbacks.

In the end, both were offered new short-term deals.

Craig suggested Martin would be given similar consideration to Burton and Hentschel, but said the club would have to remove some of the emotion surrounding the decision on the young footballer's future.

"In the end, as a football club we need to be very clinical in the assessment of our list. Our supporter group would expect no different even though sometimes we've been that [clinical] in the past and it upsets people because some of your most popular icons have to go and we'll face that situation again with the four obvious players [Burton, Simon Goodwin, Andrew McLeod and Tyson Edwards]," Craig said.

"We've got to be hard-nosed in what we do because it could be July next year and things aren't going well with your list. No one puts emotion up as an excuse. It's pretty cold-blooded isn't it?"

Craig said it would be "less than responsible" to make decisions on list management with five rounds remaining in the season.