Darcy Byrne-Jones showed on Saturday why he was named an All-Australian half-back in 2020, making a return to his defensive roots against Richmond.

After making the switch forward in recent seasons, Byrne-Jones worked hard in defence on the weekend, collecting 26 disposals and 10 marks in a dominant display.

Speaking with the Adelaide media on Tuesday, the 30-year-old spoken on the move to defence, how the side has been tracking early in the season and the responsibility of closing Gather Round on Sunday night.

Byrne-Jones on playing in the backline on Saturday
“It was interesting. It was an interesting week. I didn't probably expect to go down back. And then when Carry (Josh Carr) told me during the week, just tried to go back with an open mind and provide some leadership and experience back there. And it's always nice to get your hands on the footy when you've been sort of down forward, and it's a little bit tougher. I’m not entirely sure (if I’ll continue down back). I think probably this week, potentially down back again, and then we'll see what that looks like after that. But as we start getting some guys back from injury and that kind of thing, we'll see what that looks like.

“It took a little bit to get used to it, I trained there during the week and got a little bit of time there, but that first quarter was pretty hectic, and think there was only one goal kicked and not many stoppages, so I was certainly breathing pretty heavily towards the end of first quarter and after that, I felt pretty comfortable.”

Byrne-Jones on what Josh Carr said to him about playing back
“He's in charge. So whatever he says goes. And he said, just go back. You don't need to perform any miracles or anything, just go back, provide some leadership, and some calmness back there with a pretty young back six who haven't played a lot of footy together. So I didn't try to reinvent the wheel or anything. Just tried to go back and provide some leadership and some experience. It’s always enjoyable to win on the MCG. I hadn't played closely with Aliir or Kane (Farrell) for a while. So that was good to reminisce a little bit.”

Byrne-Jones on the side’s form
“Yeah, we've been loss, win, loss, win. So in form, potentially, I thought we played better footy on the weekend than what we did the week before. So that was pleasing, and I think we can take some momentum and confidence from the weekend and take that through this week and into Gather Round.

“I think we’re certainly improving and developing each week. And we’re a pretty young, inexperienced group that's trying to learn what it's like to be an AFL player and to be an AFL team. So I think we're taking learnings from each week, and I'm confident that if guys continue to improve, then we can improve and be a strong team.

Byrne-Jones on closing Gather Round this weekend
“I think we did that last year from memory. It's exciting in a way, we get to cap off a big weekend for the whole state. So, we're excited to play that Sunday night fixture, and have all eyes on us at the end of Gather Round. So, it's going to be exciting, and it's going to be a big week for everyone in the state.

“(Gather Round) is exciting for everyone. I think, even people friends from Melbourne are messaging saying, how exciting it is for Gather Round and you know, people coming over from all around Australia to watch. It’s a big weekend for everyone in the state, and it's exciting, and it's good for Adelaide. we take on that responsibility of being the last game, and we're excited to be a part of it.”

Byrne-Jones on Todd Marshall
“Hopefully (he’ll be available). There's still a fair bit to play out during the week, and we’ve still got a couple of training sessions. So, I think we're hopeful that he'll be out there. And it'll be good to have him back in.”

Byrne-Jones on St Kilda
“They've made some changes to their list, like every team does, and I haven't seen a whole lot of them yet. We’ll work through them this week and what their strengths and weaknesses are. But any team in the competition, if you don't respect them and expect their best, they'll beat you. So we'll certainly be expecting their best.

“Anytime you get beaten on your home turf, it does sting a little bit more. So you certainly use a little bit of motivation from (last year’s loss). We expect a strong St Kilda outfit to come at us. So like I said, respect every team and expect their best.”

Byrne-Jones on Zak Butters as stand-in captain
“Zak’s a really strong leader, and his competitiveness is something that you probably don't see in too many people ever. So on game day, he's really strong with his feedback. And Connor's a little bit more probably empathetic than what Zak is, but they’re both really strong leaders and it's a shame that Connor is not out there with us.”