On-field Jake Lever is the enemy but off-field he's still a friend to Adelaide players, Chris McDermott writes
WHEN Jake Lever crosses the white line in a Melbourne jumper on Sunday he’s the enemy but once the game is over he’s still a friend to many Crows players. But Adelaide fans shouldn’t be expecting a win, and this is why.
Chris McDermott
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BE afraid Crows fans, be very afraid.
History shows when the Adelaide Football Club comes face-to-face with a former player from an unhappy departure, it loses.
Three departures. Three grudge matches. Three losses — big losses, too.
A 0-4 record is on the line on Sunday when they meet the latest deserter Jake Lever.
Jack Gunston was first when he turned his back on the Crows at the end of the 2011 season, after just 14 games.
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He had just won the Mark Bickley award as the club’s best young player but was quickly stripped of his title on announcing his intentions to leave.
The friendship ended quickly but Gunston had the last laugh.
The Crows were beaten by 56 points in his first game for the Hawks against his old team in 2012.
Gunston was quiet but it mattered little. He kicked a goal, gave one away and celebrated hard.
Within two seasons he was a premiership player — two years later he was a three-timer.
Kurt Tippett was next.
This one was ugly.
The Crows were eventually fined and lost their first two draft picks in 2012 and 2013 while Tippett was fined and suspended for 11 matches.
The trade to Sydney was blocked by the AFL, with Sydney eventually picking him up in the pre-season draft.
The Crows got nothing for him in return and the saga would haunt them for many years.
It took more than two seasons for them to come face-to-face on the field.
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The clash between Tippett and his former team drew comparisons with Wayne Carey’s first game against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium in 2003.
It promised much but delivered little.
The Crows were beaten by 52 points and Tippett was at his best, kicking three goals from his 19 disposals as well as 25 hit-outs in a Swans blitz at the SCG.
Then there was Patrick Dangerfield.
After winning the Malcolm Blight Medal in 2015 he would walk out the door never to return.
He left for family reasons but that didn’t ease the pain for many supporters.
The disappointment was real.
Dangerfield understood he was now the enemy and expected nothing less. The lead-up to their first meeting was a media circus.
A Twitter war erupted as every attempt was made to distract him.
It failed.
Dangerfield was all class and the Crows lost once again, beaten by 26 points by an off-target Geelong.
Dangerfield was not at his best but still had 33 disposals and 11 crunching tackles in the victory.
The Crows survived another potential thrashing thanks to the Cats’ inaccuracy, kicking 13.20.
Now for game four against Lever and Melbourne in Alice Springs.
It’s time to end the hoodoo but the Dees have found form and Lever has too after a slow start to the season. Last week he gathered 27 disposals against Carlton.
A head-to-head clash with Crows young gun Darcy Fogarty looks likely.
Underestimate the kid from Lucindale at your peril. He may have just five games to his name but a day out is looming.
He has already made a physical impact on the game and will be fired up to do so again.
The old buck, at a ripe old age of 22, against the 18-year-old. And his friends.
With a big month ahead that includes games against Fremantle at Perth Stadium and Hawthorn at the MCG, this is a significant game in the Crows’ season.
Games against past players, old friends or even old enemies can be a major distraction.
There will be a moment on Sunday when the opportunity will present itself for a Crows player to make a statement — a physical statement about what it means to walk away from the club.
When Jake Lever pulls on that Melbourne jumper, he is the enemy and must be treated as one. When the siren sounds and the jumpers are off, he is friend and should always be treated as one.
That is the true essence of the game.
Play it hard. Play it for keeps. Play it to win but never forget your mateship and the sacrifices you made for each other in previous times.
Teammates for a while. Friends for life.
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