Riley Thilthorpe

Born in Adelaide, Thilthorpe grew up a fan of the Adelaide Crows. His father, Ben, was an Australian ice hockey player, and as such Riley played the sport in his youth, representing South Australia until under-11 level.^[2]

Thilthorpe originally played for the Goodwood Saints in the Adelaide Footy League. He made his league debut with West Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 2019 as a 17-year-old. Across 2019 and his draft year of 2020 he played 15 league games for the Bloods.^[3] In his second senior game, Thilthorpe kicked three goals against Sturt and 15 disposals, 8 marks and two goals the following week against Central District. He also impressed with his performance in the NAB AFL Futures match before the 2019 AFL Grand Final.^[2]

The Adelaide Crows held the overall number one pick in the 2020 national draft after finishing 18th on the ladder in 2020. After their bid for Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was matched by the Western Bulldogs, the Crows selected Thilthorpe at pick two,^[4] their highest-ever pick in a national draft.

Thilthorpe debuted in round 6 of the 2021 AFL season, as he was impressive with 16 disposals and kicked 5 goals.^[5] His 5 goals is the highest ever by a Crows debutant, tied with Josh Rachele, who matched the record a year later. Jason Dunstall noted the performance as "the emergence of a future star."^[6]

In Round 13, against St Kilda, Thilthorpe kicked the match-winning goal over his head on his opposite boot in the last minute of the game. It completed Adelaide's 36-point comeback.^[7] Thilthorpe was rewarded with the NAB AFL Rising Star nomination for Round 13.^[8]

After a strong off-season prior to 2024, Thilthorpe sustained a knee injury in a pre-season match against West Coast. He had surgery and missed more than four months of football.^[9] Thilthorpe finally made his return in July of 2024, coming on as the substitute in the fourth quarter against St Kilda and kicking two match-winning goals.^[10] He played his 50th game just a few weeks later against Geelong, and kicked three goals in the same game, the first of which was his 50th career goal.^[11] Following a successful return from injury in the latter half of the season, Thilthorpe signed a contract extension until the end of 2028.^[12]

Thilthorpe enjoyed career-best form at the start of the 2025 season. Across his first four games, he kicked 14 goals to lead the Coleman Medal count in Round 4 and at that point was the highest-rated player in the competition over the previous 10 regular season rounds.^[13][14] An equal career-high five goals in a narrow loss to Gold Coast earned the forward 10 coaches votes.^[15] He improved his personal best later in the year against the Western Bulldogs when he kicked six goals in a high-scoring affair.^[16] The following week, Thilthorpe kicked his 100th career goal in the Round 19 win over Gold Coast.^[17] He produced a best-on-ground performance against Port Adelaide in Showdown 58 despite heavy rain, winning his first Showdown Medal.^[18]