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Alex Neal-Bullen on why he backflipped on never coming home to South Australia
Six months after declaring he would “never” return to South Australia, Alex Neal-Bullen was unveiled as a Crows player. He reveals what changed to prompt his SA homecoming.Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
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Alex Neal-Bullen stood alongside Crows captain Jordan Dawson at Adelaide Oval before Gather Round and was defiant when asked if he had ever been close to returning home.
“Never,” Neal-Bullen said in April.
Six months on, the 2021 Melbourne premiership player was unveiled as a Crow on Tuesday after securing a trade 24 hours earlier, for pick 28.
That Gather Round press conference was on Neal-Bullen’s mind as he drove to West Lakes to front the media about his move, but he insisted that was an honest answer at the time.
“As the year’s panned out and my family dynamics have changed a little bit, the possibility to come home presented itself once I voiced to Melbourne footy club I had a desire to move back to South Australia,” Neal-Bullen, who requested a trade for personal reasons.
“It’s funny you mention that because driving out here I’m like ‘the last time I did a presser someone asked me would I come home and I said never’.
“Twelve months is a long time in footy.
“Our family is really supportive.
“My family and my wife’s family became diehard Melbourne fans but they were closeted Adelaide Crows fans so I’m pretty confident it’s not going to take too much to unlock the Crows guernseys and scarfs to come out again.”
Neal-Bullen will be the only premiership player on a Crows team that has not made the finals since 2017.
The 28-year-old’s big-game experience was part of the appeal for Adelaide in targeting him.
“I don’t walk around thinking I’m a premiership player,” he said.
“I was so fortunate to be part of that group but my sole focus is to understand what the Adelaide footy club is about, what they stand for week to week, day to day, and get right in behind that.”
Neal-Bullen, who was drafted at pick 40 in 2014, said once he and his wife decided late in the season they wanted to return to SA, it was only ever going to be the Crows.
“My number one priority was always to come home for family reasons and when Adelaide came with an opportunity, being an Adelaide Crows fan growing up – I used to come to AAMI Stadium to watch footy – the little boy in me was jumping up and down,” he said.
“To be here now, I’m so grateful.
“I always understood where Adelaide were at (coming off a 15th-placed finish).
“What excites me is that everyone here has got a hunger and desire to get this footy club moving in a great direction, which they’ve already started.”
Neal-Bullen was with Crows high-performance boss Darren Burgess at the Demons but did not know too many other people at the club.
He named fellow half-forward Ben Keays as someone he looked forward to playing alongside, highlighting his professionalism and journey from delisted free agent to his best-and-fairest win last week.
