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Josh Rachele sent his team-mates into meltdown in the gym as the Adelaide Crows returned for pre-season training this week, with one former player branding him the AFL's newest 'strong guy'.
Both junior and senior players returned to the club on Monday to complete their first block of pre-season training at Thebarton Oval, with the club publishing a clip of the playing group gathering around Rachele in the gym.
In the clip, the 22-year-old medium forward showed off his incredible strength, bench pressing what is understood to have been 150kg.
His team-mates gathered around in anticipation, as the 180cm star completed the incredible feat.
The players jumped up in the air after Rachele reached the top of the rep, celebrating wildly before embracing their team-mate.
'Vibes are up,' the Crows captioned the clip. The club added: 'Get yourself team-mates who celebrate harder than you do.'
Josh Rachele sent his team-mates into meltdown in the gym as the Adelaide Crows returned for pre-season training this week, with one former player branding him the AFL's newest 'strong guy'
Rachele, meanwhile, is set to enter his fifth season at the Crows this year and is hoping to bounce back from an injury-plagued campaign that saw him miss the final seven rounds of the regular season
Former AFL star Daniel Gorringe, among many other fans, was left stunned by Rachele's strength.
Gorringe counted out the discs on either side of the barbell, before stating: 'It's over for defenders. If Josh Rachele is benching 150kg on a random Tuesday like it's nothing, then forget about it Mr Strong Guy.
He added: 'I'd be absolutely terrified if I was a defender seeing this vision. Josh Rachele is going to bench you out of the stadium. He might stiff-arm you to the turf.'
But there may be some discussion around who is the strongest player currently playing in the AFL.
North Melbourne took to the comments on Gorringe's post, along with many other fans, claiming that Paul Curtis could out-do Rachele.
'Paul Curtis when he was 10,' the Kangaroos said. Another tagged the Roos small forward, writing: 'That's cute @PaulCurtis.'
Claims have been made that Curtis can top Rachele's efforts, with multiple North Melbourne stars stating that the Kangaroos star can bench 165kg.
Brian Taylor reported on Triple M last year that Curtis held both the deadlift and bench press at North Melbourne.
Some, though, believe that North Melbourne star Paul Curtis (pictured) might be the strongest man in the AFL
North Melbourne took to the comments of an Instagram post by Dan Gorringe, to object to claims that Rachele was the strongest footy player in the league, with some also noting that Curtis benched 165kg last season
Rachele (pictured) believes his leadership skills have 'gone to another level from this year' and is hoping to help guide the Crows back into finals in 2026
Rachele, meanwhile, is set to enter his fifth season at the Crows this year and is hoping to bounce back from an injury-plagued campaign that saw him miss the final seven rounds of the regular season, as well as the Crows' qualifying-final defeat by Collingwood.
A future leader of the club, Rachele is certainly a player to watch in 2026, as the Crows look to improve on their feats of 2025.
'I am starting to really enjoy my football over the last four years and really understand my role,' he told The Advertiser.
'The last two to three years I've had a lot of great learnings over these years and I think I'm starting to mature a bit on the football field.
'I think my leadership has gone to another level from this year and it is something I am hoping to strive for in the coming years as well.
'I think we have a great one to five, one to six year group. We've got so many leaders within that core and I was very proud of myself as to where I got to both on and off the field and I'm just looking to build on that for next year.'
