Season of great disappointment is now replaced by the silly season to test the fans’ patience more

CROWS and Port Adelaide fans expected a busy September. Instead, they get a little longer to deal with their frustration from disappointing seasons on the field and more speculation on off-field plays.

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NO AFL season has ended in August or so soon for both SA-based teams since 2000 — and it simply should not be this way.

There are many interesting theories on why the Crows and Port Adelaide rank 12th and 10th and, with 11th-placed Essendon, were the biggest underachievers of 2018.

Fact or myth that Port’s poor finish of just one win in the last seven games, after being 11-4, traces back to China?

Will Mitch McGovern stay at the Crows? Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

Chad Wingard with Ken Hinkley and Jared Polec, who is being lured to Victoria. Picture Sarah Reed

For the past two seasons, the international agenda in Shanghai has forced Port Adelaide to take an early bye and finish 2018 with 14 consecutive home-and-away games and this season with 13. Port Adelaide was 6-2 on the run home in 2017; 1-6 this year. Hardly a convincing theory.

Fact or myth that Adelaide’s inability to follow-up a grand final appearance — to crash to 12th — relates to the pre-season camp at the Gold Coast, the Collective Mind saga that does indeed linger, the KangaTech system that is dubbed “elite athlete injury prevention technology” or, as former Crows ruckman Rhett Biglands threw into the hopper today, the boys just stopped having fun at West Lakes?

It is for the so-called “thorough reviews” at both clubs to sort through the ashes of two major crashes from teams that were being measured as top-four contenders.

Season 2019 demands a positive response. Crows board member Mark Ricciuto today noted there are many frustrated — some would say angry and agitated — fans on both sides of the great divide.

He argues the clubs can brush away the discontent from one season, but not two.

Neither Adelaide nor Port Adelaide will make dramatic overhauls of their football programs in the off-season. But there will be change.

The Power will have a new coaching panel to replace Matthew Nicks, Brendon Lade and Aaron Greaves with successful state league coaches and AFL premiership players Martin Mattner and Jarrod Schofield destined to move to Alberton.

The Crows will shuffle coaches and restaff their high-performance team that works under fitness coach Matt Haas — and that started on Friday.

There is longer than usual for Crows list manager Justin Reid and his Power equivalent Jason Cripps to plan their strategy for the trade period in October and new-look draft in late November.

Adelaide is described by Carlton as “desperate” to advance in the draft order to collect the Blues’ No. 1 draft pick to claim Jack Lukosius.

So who becomes “trade bait” at West Lakes — other than Mitch McGovern — when the Crows were so eager to announce on Friday they had re-signed 13 players this year — Rory Atkins, club champion Matt Crouch, Richard Douglas, Darcy Fogarty, Jordan Gallucci, Elliott Himmelberg, Rory Laird, Tom Lynch, David Mackay, Andrew McPherson, Paul Seedsman, vice-captain Rory Sloane and Brodie Smith.

Port Adelaide, as everyone knows too well, restocked last year — and is to be watched for signing a ruckman (most probably West Coast free agent Scott Lycett) and for negotiating with North Melbourne as wingman Jared Polec considers his huge offer from Arden Street.