The proud Ngarrindjeri man went from a town of less than 100 people to living with Rankine, a relative of Long, and training with the Crows at the start of the year.

The Crows Next Generation Academy member hails from the remote Indigenous community of Raukkan in South Australia, two hours south east of Adelaide. The town with a population of 96 is perhaps best known for the Raukkan church, which is displayed on the $50 note.

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Pickett’s father, comedian Kevin Kropinyeri, is also from Raukkan with he and Long’s father “basically brothers”.

Long had been exposed to life away from home while boarding for several years in Adelaide at Prince Alfred College, where he graduated at the end of 2025.

But the step-up in professionalism in his three weeks with Rankine and the Crows taught the exciting medium forward plenty about the rigours of AFL footy.

“His dad and my mum’s sister, are brother and sister as well,” Long said of Rankine to this masthead.

“Early this year I was living with him. And we were waking up at four o’clock every morning meditating, and then going into the Crows at like five or six.

“By the time everyone gets there, me and Izak were ready to go.

“You can tell he’s going to go a long way next year. I’m calling it, he’ll win a Brownlow next year.

“The Crows have definitely have showed me a lot of leeway into the AFL, what it’s going to be like if I get there. So it’s definitely a big help they’ve given me already.”

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The most telling lesson from Rankine related to the dark times he has experienced throughout his career.

“He kind of just said, when things get tough, don’t just think that’s the end of the world. There’s always a way through it, and just keep fighting no matter what,” Long recalled.

“And don’t ever feel shame to ask for help, like because there’s always people there that always want the best for you, and that’s going to help.

“So he said, just always ask and never be too shy to ask.”

Long, an All-Australian small forward with South Australia at the under-18 national championships, has received similar advice from Pickett.

“Kozzie, he’s come to Raukkan a few times because his dad lives down there,” Long said.

“And (he said) just strive for greatness, don’t ever be frightened of anything. Don’t ever be scared to ask questions, anything.

“Just be you and do you, just show who you are.”

A livewire in the forward half with strong self-belief, Long aspires to be like Rankine and Pickett – as well as St Kilda superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera.

“Start forward and go mid. Definitely after Kozzie as well, what he did,” Long said of his role aspirations.

“And then hopefully turn into a Nas and go play everywhere. It’s definitely something I’m looking for.”

Michael Long is one Indigenous star that Anthony isn’t connected to despite the shared surname – word filtered out of SA during the year he was Michael’s nephew, which isn’t the case.

More recently, Anthony been growing off the field with another renowned First Nations footballer in Paddy Ryder, who detailed his harrowing battle with addiction to this masthead last month.

The 280-game ruck won a premiership with Long’s junior club Jervois after sharing his moving story.

In October, Long travelled up to the Indigenous community of Wadeye, 400 kilometres from Darwin, with Ryder where they spoke to locals and assisted with footy and health clinics.

Long knows first-hand how difficult it is to make a name for yourself in a remote region.

“Being from the smallest town, like 80 people, and then trying to move up to Adelaide and be known around by a lot of people, was challenging, hard,” Long said.

“But definitely just had to grind and put the work in and show off my talent and how good I am at football, and that obviously paid off.”

While he is tied to Adelaide’s NGA and played two games for their SANFL side, Long is no guarantee to be picked up by the Crows, who are set to take three national draft selections and hold picks 15, 32 and 35.

The lively goalkicker has a wide draft range and interest from several other clubs including Geelong, St Kilda, Richmond, Fremantle and Essendon.

Long is excited by the prospect of moving interstate, as he reassured the Bombers at the draft combine, where he ran a swift 2.94-second 20m sprint.

“I had Essendon and they asked me, ‘How would you feel about moving over to here?’ And I was like, ‘Oh definitely would be like something I’m looking for, moving away from Adelaide’,” Long said.

“Like I’ve been there my whole life, and definitely want to start something new, move over to Melbourne.

“Melbourne or Perth would be good, somewhere moving away over there.”

Originally published as The advice and family ties helping power Adelaide Crows-linked draft prospect Anthony Long