Adam was the first of the three Whitelock brothers (the others are George and Sam) to travel south to Canterbury from Manawatu. He moved to Christchurch in 2006 to study accountancy at the University of Canterbury. Playing for the High School Old Boys under-21s, the centre represented Canterbury under-19s before making the senior HSOB team and Canterbury Colts squad last season. His mother Caroline was a Dalzell as in the daughter of All Black Nelson Dalzell, while his father Braeden played for Manawatu and the New Zealand Colts. Adam captained Canterbury in the pre-season match against Tasman in Blenheim.

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