GEELONG recruit Josh Jenkins says he's excited for a fresh start at the Cats after a difficult final season in Adelaide.
Jenkins moved from Adelaide to Geelong on the final day of the Telstra AFL Trade Period, with the Cats sending pick No.37 to the Crows in exchange for the ruck/forward and a future third-round selection.
Jenkins said he'd initially spoken to the Cats around Grand Final week, but had to wait until later on to have a move confirmed.
"Clearly Geelong had a lot on their plate with moving guys in and out, so we knew that in my situation we were just going to have to wait for it to unfold," he said.
"And fortunately (it did) - I had to get up at 3.30 in the morning in New York and follow the last couple of hours of the last day of the trade.
"But (I was) always pretty confident that we'd be able to make our way to the Cats."
Despite being contracted until the end of 2021 at Adelaide, Jenkins fell out of favour under Don Pyke this year, playing just 11 AFL games and made it clear he was willing to take a pay cut to end his time at the Crows early.
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Jenkins said the main reason he left Adelaide was for more football opportunities but acknowledged his vocal nature - especially in regard to the club's issues - could have strained relationships at the club.
"Certainly it's well known that I was one of the guys who were very vocal and talking about some of the issues that we had and perhaps that strained some relationships and it's best to go your separate ways," Jenkins said.
"But for the most part I've left Adelaide in a great situation."
The Crows endured two difficult seasons after their 2017 Grand Final loss, including a well-publicised pre-season camp.
Pyke resigned after the season and Taylor Walker stepped down as captain, while head of football Brett Burton and assistant coach Scott Camporeale were both sacked following a review into the club.
"When the group's not performing or playing how you expect to, everyone feels that strain and it's claimed plenty of casualties over there in Adelaide and I'm one of them I guess," Jenkins said.
Now, Jenkins will bolster Geelong's forward line options, having booted 296 goals in 147 games for the Crows. He anticipated he would fill a similar forward/ruck role to what he'd played in Adelaide.
Before this year, Jenkins had booted 40 or more goals for five consecutive seasons, including a career-best 62 in 2016.
