Brent Reilly is an Australian rules football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

er in the Australian Football League

Australian Football League

The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...

.

Debuting with the Adelaide Football Club in 2003 as a 19-year-old, Reilly took his time to develop, struggling to retain his spot in the side under the coaching of Gary Ayres

Gary Ayres

Gary Ayres is a former Australian rules footballer for the Hawthorn Football Club and currently the senior coach for the Port Melbourne Football Club in the Victoria Football League.-Playing career:...

. The appointment of Neil Craig

Neil Craig

Neil P. Craig is a former Australian rules footballer, fitness adviser and former coach of the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League . As of 2012, he will be based in a new role as the Director of Sports Performance at the Melbourne Football Club...

 as coach in mid-2004 significantly helped his development, with the youngster beginning to earn selection on a consistent basis. He played every home-and-away game in the 2005 season

2005 AFL season

Results and statistics for the Australian Football League season of 2005.See List of Australian Football League premiers for a complete list.-National Cup:...

 and the first final, before missing the last two with a hamstring

Hamstring

In human anatomy, the hamstring refers to any one of the three posterior thigh muscles, or to the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee. In modern anatomical contexts, however, they usually refer to the posterior thigh muscles, or the tendons of the semitendinosus, the...

 injury, and ever since he has been a regular in the Crows' 22, renowned for his long and accurate kicking.

In 2009, with many younger players pressing their claims for selection, Reilly was one of a number of players with their places in the side under pressure, being dropped a number of times. However, he responded with a string of strong performances, and again entrenched himself in the Crows' best side. With the departure of Robert Shirley

Robert Shirley (footballer)

Robert Shirley is an Australian Rules footballer who is currently clubless after being delisted by the Adelaide Crows. He plays primarily as a tagger but is also adept as a contested possession winning midfielder...

 at the end of the season, Reilly began to make his name in 2010 in a new role as a tagger, most notably in the club's upset victory over Geelong

Geelong Football Club

The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...

, in which he kept superstar Gary Ablett

Gary Ablett, Jr.

Gary Ablett, Jr. is a professional Australian rules football player and current captain of the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League ....

 to only 19 possessions.

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