Deep Dive: Having declared they are rebuilding, Adelaide fans must accept that things will get worse before they get better for Crows
In 30 years, Adelaide has never bottomed out, finished lower than 14th and or been inside the top five at the draft. But that looks like changing. Strap yourselves in Crows fans, because this rebuild will take a while.
Reece Homfray
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One of the hallmarks of the Crows in their 30 years is they have never bottomed out.
They’ve won two flags but have never finished last, never finished lower than 14th and never been inside the top five at the national draft.
Even when they did have a rough year they have typically bounced back quickly, 12th to premier in 1997, 12th to third in 2005 and 14th to third in 2012.
But this year feels different.
The season might be only two games old, but the writing is on the wall; after finishing 12th and 11th the past two seasons, there will be no sudden spike.
Take a seat, Crows fans, because this might take a while and Matthew Nicks may have the same message for his players when they arrive for their Monday review after Saturday night’s record loss to Port Adelaide in Showdown 48.
Clearly, it’s going to take some getting used to.
Adelaide supporters have probably never entered a season having to accept that things will have to get worse before they get better, and football director Mark Ricciuto said as much on Fox Footy last weekend.
“You’ve got to be aggressive in the rebuild and we’re in that phase now, I’m not shying away from the fact that we’re two or three years away from being a really competitive side again,” he said.
“Because with 18 sides in your comp you can’t do it half-arsed, you can’t go and buy it … you’ve got to do it slowly and thoroughly, go back to the draft, be patient, then pick off a few free agents and go bang.
“So, we’re right at the start of it, we’ve got to play kids, we’re going to have some bad losses, but that’s the only way you do it.”
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They had a list cull last year which followed years of key departures like Charlie Cameron, Jake Lever and Patrick Dangerfield.
There is clearly a commitment to getting games into kids like Ned McHenry, Chayce Jones and Fischer McAsey, and there was also a decision – rightly or wrongly – in the off-season to allow emerging ruckman Reilly O’Brien to go it alone without genuine competition or support when Sam Jacobs left.
Midfielder Matt Crouch told The Advertiser he doesn’t believe his team is as far away from a finals-bound Port Adelaide as Saturday night’s 75-point margin would suggest.
But this looked more than just a bad night and, really, are supporters that surprised?
As one staunch Crows fan wrote on Twitter after the loss: “Some of you have never watched your sporting teams rebuild and it shows.”
The million dollar question is whether a night like Saturday was a necessary evil Adelaide must go through in order to improve?
“Maybe, but hopefully not for too long,” Nicks said post-match.
“The best part about it is we know what we’re not getting right and we’re not hiding from that.
“There’s stuff that’s unacceptable that we won’t put up with and we’ll nail that as a group and hopefully it’s not something we put up with for a long period of time, this will be something we get right as quick as possible.”
“We know we’ve got work to do.”
But there are two layers to what Adelaide dished up on Saturday night.
A rebuild might excuse the result and even the margin, but it doesn’t however excuse the performance.
“We’ve got to give credit to Port Adelaide and where they’re at, but you can’t make it easy for these stronger sides, you can’t go out there and allow them to do what they want to do,” Nicks said.
And don’t bother using age as an excuse with Nicks.
“We’re not all young,” he said on Saturday night.
He’s right.
The average age of Port Adelaide’s 22 in the Showdown was 26.5. Adelaide’s was 25.1.
The difference is Port Adelaide’s kids already have games into them like Rozee (24), Butters (21), Duursma (22) and Marshall (22), and the Crows are at least 12 months behind them on the curve with Jones (10), McHenry (1), McAsey (2) and Fogarty (16).
But perhaps the bigger problem for Adelaide is at the top end.
Port Adelaide’s veterans like Justin Westhoff (33), Travis Boak (31), Brad Ebert (30) and Robbie Gray (32) are playing like they’re 18 again.
Boak is certainly running like it after he won his second Showdown Medal on the weekend.
“If you allow a Boak to run straight past you in open field, you’re not going to catch him,” Nicks said of the former Power skipper.
Adelaide’s veterans weren’t at the same level on Saturday night and its two oldest players in Bryce Gibbs and David Mackay (both 31) don’t appear to be banging down the door for selection.
Adelaide’s middle tier of 28 and 29-year-olds was just as disappointing on Saturday night, although Daniel Talia is excused after another big game against the tide at full back.
“When I say we’re not going to put up with it, we’re not all young, we’ve got some guys in our group who know that physicality is part of AFL footy and if you’re not going to embrace it then we’re going to be chasing,” Nicks said.
“So, we’re working harder than we have to because we won’t do the work off-ball, it should be an easy fix but there’s a certain amount you have to buy into that – and we will.
“I love the way Chayce Jones went about it, if I’m trying to find a positive out of it, I thought he was outstanding.
“We put him to Boak for a little period late in the game and Travis was playing some really good footy and Chayce was able to quieten him down.”
It’s difficult to know which statistic would have hurt Nicks more on Saturday night – contested possession (-19), clearances (-8) or tackles (-16).
They lost all three stats against Sydney in Round 1 as well, and this was Nicks on Friday:
“When we’ve been able to put some match play on the field we’ve more than beat each other up, so I’m confident we’ve done some really good work in that space”.
“But the true test is Saturday night and we’re up against a very good opposition in good form and it’s a Showdown,” he added.
Unfortunately for the Crows, they failed that first test and this was Nicks on Saturday night:
“Our inconsistency, our lack of contest, our bruise-free footy, considering what we’ve trained for the last two months since our first hitout we knew that was disappointing and our off-ball stuff needed work,” he said.
“So, we focused on it, trained it, to get out under bright lights and let ourselves down like we did, I thought we put 10 minutes of footy out on the ground and unfortunately completely dropped away.
“It’s a really embarrassing performance and disappointing for us.”
Crouch admitted his team was “smashed in the contest”, but he says growing pains are sometimes the best way to learn as well.
“After the first quarter our contest work wasn’t up to scratch,” he said.
“But all credit to Port, they were sharp, some of their speed and dynamic around the footy, they played a pretty complete game.
“I don’t think we’re that far away, no, we’ve trained a lot of things over the summer and it’s disappointing tonight not to come out and put them on show.
“There’s a bit of work for us to do, but I’m confident we can get back into training and do the work.
“It’s good that those boys (like Jones and McHenry) are getting that experience in AFL footy now, so you do learn the most when you’re a young player and realise what the guns do and what it takes to be a really good player.”