Reality Bites: Adelaide Crows parklands move proposal must be out in open
An “open letter” to former lord mayor Martin Haese to campaing the removal of secrecy behind the Crows’ impending move as part of his Adelaide Parklands protection concerns. Plus more Collingwood jumper pulling and all eyes on NFL’s Antonio Brown.
Michelangelo Rucci
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Former Lord Mayor Martin Haese punched out an eye-catching tweet on May 7 this year — a social media message that would delight the late Colonel William Light and should inspire more question of the Adelaide Football Club’s move from West Lakes to the city.
Now the chief executive of Business SA, Haese posted a photograph from high above the Adelaide city centre and wrote: “A picture is worth a thousand words. If we ever needed a reason to protect green spaces and not inappropriately develop the Adelaide Park Lands, this photo tells the whole story.”
The “whole story” to the Crows taking over a corner of the north parklands — by “inheriting” the financially ailing Adelaide Aquatic Centre at North Adelaide off the hands of the Adelaide City Council — needs to be told as well.
And while there is public land and public money involved in the plan to build a $60-65 million facility to house the Crows administration and training facility at the north parklands, there should not be closed meetings and confidential red tape on understanding just what the Adelaide Football Club is to do on this green space that Haese wants to protect.
When the Crows “secretly” briefed the Adelaide City Council on its plans in early September — behind closed doors — Cr Phil Martin told The Advertiser the Adelaide Football Club’s presentation was “fluffy nonsense”.
“It was a full-on sales pitch without detail that did not enable a full assessment of the proposal,” he said.
A picture is worth a thousand words. If we ever needed a reason to protect green spaces and not inappropriately develop the Adelaide Park Lands, this photo tells the whole story. pic.twitter.com/jU37B9kREW
— Martin Haese (@MartinHaese) May 6, 2019
This seems in line with what council staff tell Reality Bites of Crows staffers and board members presenting this project in their chambers with a “sense of entitlement”.
The Crows responded with media manager Ian Shuttleworth issuing this line: “(The) meeting (with council) was a confidential discussion and we would prefer to respect that situation.”
Be it by the council’s wishes — or those of the Crows — this discussion on the future of the Adelaide Aquatic Centre cannot be confidential while there is $15 million of public money from the federal government underwriting the Adelaide Football Club’s city move. And the future of public land deserves public scrutiny, at every step.
There are many questions Haese should be asking after putting himself up as a guardian of the parklands. How many floors and how much space will the Crows headquarters take up? What happens to the open fields north of Barton Terrace when Crows coach Don Pyke wants to have “closed” training sessions?
Symbolically, the Adelaide Football Club in the Adelaide CBD makes perfect sense. Historically, a football club in the parklands — in particular the north parklands — is true to the early pioneer days of South Australian football. This is where the game began in Adelaide.
But the process should not be played out behind closed doors, more so when so much public skin is involved in this debate.
CHARLIE’S ANGELS
All-Australian forward Charlie Cameron’s heart-to-heart with Brisbane teammate Mitch Robinson has cast new light on that infamous golf game with Crows coach Don Pyke at the end of the 2017 AFL season — the one the Crows media department insisted was an amicable stroll of a suburban golf course in Adelaide.
If only Robinson had pressed Cameron on the reception he had at a team barbecue after the 2017 AFL grand final … a point the external reviewers of Adelaide’s football program might want to take up.
JUMPER PULLING
So it is not just Port Adelaide that has jumper issues with the Collingwood Football Club.
After AFL minor premier Geelong was denied the right to play its home qualifying final at Kardinia Park on Friday night, the navy blue-and-white Cats were in their home uniform — with blue shorts — to set up a jumper clash with the black-and-white Collingwood team at the MCG.
When the AFL official statisticians at Champion Data entered the debate on social media that it was difficult to distinguish the teams, there is clearly a problem (even if some will argue we did not struggle in the old days of black-and-white television coverage).
Port Adelaide has long struggled with having the AFL act on Collingwood’s belief the national league has room for just one black-and-white team (despite there being multiple teams using blue-and-white and red-gold-and-blue).
Perhaps Geelong’s insistence on wearing its home uniform — after being denied its home field — against Collingwood will finally move the AFL to insist the Magpies fall in line with every other AFL club in having a distinctly different clash jumper.
Should we hold our breath?
Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas — as noted in last week’s Reality Bites — cleared up the notion there was a restrictive, longstanding agreement signed by his club and Collingwood on jumpers.
So this exchange between Collingwood president Eddie McGuire and his Geelong counterpart Colin Carter after the qualifying final mess is interesting.
McGUIRE (to Channel Seven after the game): “I saw the beginning of the game and I went over to (AFL chief executive) Gil (McLachlan) because 20 years ago, (Geelong president) Frank Costa and I shook hands on an agreement because 21 years ago, there was a day when Collingwood had predominantly white, white shorts and Geelong had white and no one could tell what was going on.
“But we had an agreement, home, away — have a look at the Grand Final in 2011. For 20 years, they’ve worn the white gear because we had a gentlemen’s agreement.”
CARTER (to Radio 3AW on Saturday): “The talk of a handshake agreement is news to me. I talked to (chief executive) Brian Cook and he hadn’t heard of it either.”
RESERVE CLAUSE
Leading AFL player agents are preparing for a dramatic end-of-season trade period in October. But they tell Reality Bites that moves to introduce a mid-season trade session — alongside or to replace the revived mid-season draft — are sinking.
Despite the AFL finding a sponsor for a mid-season trade period, the AFL club chief executives have baulked at the idea.
BROWN OUT
NFL football is celebrating its 100th season this year. And very little in the past century of American football can match the events of the weekend when the New England Patriots picked up wide receiver Antonio Brown from the Oakland Raiders.
Brown, 31, started his NFL career in 2010 at the Pittsburgh Steelers. A fall-out with his quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the end of last season prompted Brown to request a trade that took him to the Oakland Raiders.
But before Brown took to the NFL field with the Raiders he was demanding another trade after many off-field incidents, including a confrontation with team general manager Mike Mayock.
Brown posted on a social media account this extraordinary “release me” plea — described by football critics as “bizarre” — at the weekend: “You are gonna piss a lot of people off when you start doing what’s best for you.
LFG #GodsPlan pic.twitter.com/MflFD1MqoT
— AB (@AB84) September 7, 2019
“And that’s fine! I have worked my whole life to prove that the system is blind to see talent like mines. Now that everyone sees it, they want me to conform to that same system that has failed me all those years.
“ ‘I’m not mad at anyone. I’m just asking for the freedom to prove them wrong’.
“Release me @raiders.”
The New York Post summed up the moment that created a frenzy in the NFL world with sportswriter Mark Cannizzaro declaring: “After the Raiders finally released the Diva Formerly Known as Antonio Brown on Saturday, the talented-but-troubled receiver shockingly became available to sign with any NFL team as a free agent at exactly 4:01 p.m. Saturday.
“Presumably, at 4:02 p.m., the NFL’s reigning reclamation project experts, the Patriots, called.
“Brown and the Patriots agreed to a one-year contract worth up to $15 million, according to ESPN, just hours after the Raiders shockingly released the 31-year-old superstar wide receiver.
“Brown — who won’t be permitted to play in the Pats’ Week 1 matchup against his former team, the Steelers — confirmed the signing, which includes a $9 million signing bonus, by sharing a Photoshop illustration of him in a Patriots jersey.
‘ “LFG (expletive) #GodsPlan,” the tweet read.
“Shame on the Patriots. They should get what they deserve with Brown, which at the very least is a collective season-long migraine headache, but at the worst a team torn apart by the nonsensical distractions Browns brings with him.”
One to watch in this 100th NFL season.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
Yeah, early. Yeah, a little bit, a little bit. I wouldn’t say it cost us the game, but there was a couple times I was like, ‘Hang on, that’s the wrong bloke’.
Geelong defender TOM STEWART on the Cats-Magpies jumper clash in the AFL qualifying final at the MCG.
I’d rather play (a home final) at the MCG than at Geelong, but that’s just my opinion. I’d rather play in front of 90,000 than 30,000.
Former Geelong defender MATTHEW SCARLETT on the other big debate — where the Cats should play their “home” finals.
Had I have known Blicavs was playing the ruck, I would have picked Collingwood. It was a terrible selection, let’s be brutally honest.
Sydney premiership coach PAUL ROOS on Geelong’s late call to drop ruckman Rhys Stanley — to take midfielder Sam Menegola off the emergency list — from the qualifying final.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Wow let’s call it straight Cats fans . Another Finals loss, another loss off a Bye. The club has been one loss & one win since mid Season. Even worse Geelong have won only one game away from GMHBA stadium in 11 weeks. Scary !
— Terry Wallace (@thelistmanager) September 6, 2019
Former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach TERRY WALLACE calling it against AFL minor premier Geelong that has a 3-10 win-loss record in finals since winning the 2011 premiership.