DARCY Fogarty's maturity and transformation into a true professional has given coach Matthew Nicks confidence that the Adelaide star's extended burst of form in the second half of last season will continue in 2023.

Fogarty, who booted 31 goals in his last 12 games last season to announce himself as an emerging star, gave a warning to opposition defenders in his first pre-season game last Friday.

The 23-year-old lost around 5kg because of illness during the week but emerged against Fremantle to showcase his speed and power attributes, kicking two goals as part of an exciting forward line.

Nicks said Fogarty's ability to build his endurance, emerge as a leader, and utilise his off-season more would hold the burly forward in good stead in a crucial season for the Crows.

"The off-season for him two or three years ago was back to the farm outside Lucindale and working with the family. That was his passion," Nicks told AFL.com.au.  

"Now he's balanced that out. He still has that passion there and family is always number one, but balance that out with being a pro.

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"People will just see the game now and won't actually realise what he has gone through, so it's a good lesson for any young player that you do have to have a balance with that.

"He has now put his head down, gone to work, and he has got genuine talent."

While Nicks said he was a believer that the speed and power Fogarty possesses would become even more important factors in the AFL, the 193cm forward had needed to balance those strengths with endurance.

That physical work has been done, along with a focus on the mental side of the game, with Fogarty using positive reinforcement last year as he turned around a tough start to the season that included five early games in the SANFL.

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"His game has gone to another level, and he's the reason that has happened," Nicks said.  

"He's got some great support around him. James Rahilly is our forwards coach and he's done some fantastic work with him.

"Just believing in himself and being positive about the contribution he was making to the team. He really exploded after doing some work and it’s a credit to him.

"He's matured even more off the field (and) stepped up now. He wants to have input, he wants to share ideas and thoughts, and he's got a really good footy brain."

Fogarty shapes as the centrepiece this season in a highly talented forward line that will include former captain Taylor Walker and versatile talls Riley Thilthorpe and Elliott Himmelberg, who can both contribute as ruckmen.

It's the ground-level brigade that received a big injection of talent over the off-season, however, with the addition of former Gold Coast goalkicker Izak Rankine, who starred with three goals against the Dockers.

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Exciting forward Shane McAdam has a great mix of talent and hard work, Nicks said, while Luke Pedlar is bringing speed and pressure to the front half after an impressive pre-season.

With second-year talent Josh Rachele and Rankine both earmarked for midfield/forward roles, there is suddenly a lot more forward-half polish in the Crows' game.

"It's an interesting one, because I've always been one of those coaches who's said just give me the guys who work hard. Give me 18 of those and we’ll get a flag," Nicks said.

"But I reckon there's got to be a balance with that. Talent wins premierships, and the hard work and role players get you there, so you need to find that balance.

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"I strongly believe that Josh Rachele is going to be one of the most talented players in the game as he matures. We're hopefully now instilling in him some habits about hard work, and he's showing that in games.

"Part of recruiting Izak to the club was we felt like he had a little more to offer than just forward. He's got the finish and he's very hard to stop inside 50.

"If we can expose him to some midfield time, that is then going to help our midfield from an execution point of view and ball use going inside 50."