Adelaide’s clash against the West Coast Eagles usually brings out the best in both states

As Adelaide’s hopes of winning the flag this season start to look a long way from happening, Crows premiership coach Malcolm Blight picks his best team from all the players since the Crows inception in 1991.

Adelaide Crows with the 1997 Premiership Cup.

ADELAIDE and West Coast at Adelaide Oval on Saturday afternoon ... with pre-season forecasts now very much upside down for both flagship AFL clubs.

The Crows were supposed to be a pacesetter this season seeking to atone for last year’s grand final loss. Now they are 6-7 and in an almighty scrap to stay in the race to play top-eight finals for the fourth consecutive season.

The Eagles were expected to be in Adelaide’s position, stuck in the bottom-10 looking for a new line-up - particularly in the midfield - that could challenge the AFL’s best. Instead, West Coast is in the top-four with a 10-3 record - and looking at possibly two home finals and the Eagles’ first grand final since 2015.

Both clubs have similar stories. They are the first AFL entries from two proud football states. In the Crows’ foundation years, there always was the look to the west to compare how Adelaide was delivering against the Eagles who had a four-year headstart in the big league.

Today, the count has West Coast with three premierships from five grand finals; Adelaide has two flags from three grand finals.

On a win-loss count in home-and-away seasons, both the Crows and Eagles have won more than they have lost. To have better than 50 per cent records when traditional VFL clubs - such as Hawthorn - do not have such success, is a major tribute to the work of both clubs’ founding fathers, in particular Bob Hammond and Bill Sanders at Adelaide.

Picking Adelaide’s all-time line-up from 1991 is far from easy. Unlike the Port Adelaide line-up from last week, the Crows’ super team is a 26-player team with four emergencies. And there is a case to be made for each of the four emergencies to be in the starting line-up.

David Pittman and Peter Caven are very unlucky. So is Peter Vardy, but for all the grand memories of how Vardy delivered - particularly in that wet semi-final against Sydney with six goals at the SCG in 1998 - how does an all-time Crows team not have a half-forward line without Darren Jarman and Patrick Dangerfield?

Adelaide’s Darren Jarman marks over St Kilda’s Steven Sziller in the 1997 Grand Final.

Former Crow Patrick Dangerfield gets his hand pass away. Photo Sarah Reed.

And current Adelaide captain Taylor Walker is on that emergency list missing the centre half-forward role to Matthew Robran. Take note, Robran played in two premierships teams - and kicked six goals against the Western Bulldogs in the 1998 preliminary final at the MCG.

Players should be judged by their records - and for achieving when expectation is high.

Who is the captain? Here the debate is between Brownlow Medallist Mark Ricciuto and Hall of Famer Mark Bickley.

Ricciuto has the record for the most games as Adelaide captain or acting captain - 142 from 1999-2007. Bickley is second on this list with 102 as skipper or acting captain from 1995-2000.

Dealing with the demands of leading an AFL club - in particular a high-profile club - do reveal great qualities in great players. Ricciuto could be the all-time captain. But there is something about the glint of silver on the last day of September. Those images of Bickley holding the big silver AFL premiership trophy at the end of the 1997 and 1998 grand finals will stand forever - and make the difference in a very difficult decision.

The all-time Crows 26 includes 17 All-Australians - Ben Rutten, Ben Hart, Rory Laird, Daniel Talia, Nigel Smart, Rory Sloane, Ricciuto, Simon Goodwin, Jarman, Dangerfield, Eddie Betts, Tony Modra, Tony McGuinness, Shaun Rehn, Andrew McLeod, Scott Thompson and inaugural captain Chris McDermott.

There are six from the Australian Football Hall of Fame - Bickley, Hart, Goodwin, Ricciuto, Jarman and McLeod.

Of the 27 Malcolm Blight Medallists as club champion at Adelaide, 20 of the gold jackets are with these all-time greats. And there are 10 premiership players.

So of the current Crows, who emerges in the next decade for a new line-up?

The Crouch brothers - if Brad can find an ounce of luck to get on the park; and Matt, who has declared his promise with a club champion title and All-Australian honours at a young age.

Defender Tom Doedee has done all that can be expected - and more - in his first season. Another new face, forward Darcy Fogarty shall be interesting to watch as we learn if he is big enough to hold a key position or quick enough to play as a mid-size forward.

Mitch McGovern is a prospect who will stand out more in the next two seasons.

And All-Australian defender Rory Laird is clearly the stand-out of the current generation of Crows.

ALL-TIME CROWS

Malcolm Blight’s best Crows line-up from 1991.

B: T. Edwards, B. Rutten, B. Hart

HB: R. Laird, D. Talia, N. Smart

C: R. Sloane, M. Ricciuto, S. Goodwin

HF: D. Jarman, M. Robran, P. Dangerfield

F: E. Betts, A. Modra, T. McGuinness

1R: S. Rehn, A. McLeod, M. Bickley (c)

Int: S. Thompson, G. Johncock, C. McDermott, S. Jacobs

Em: P. Caven, D. Pittman, T. Walker, P. Vardy