From Don Pyke to Graham Cornes, we rank the eight full-time senior coaches of the Adelaide Football Club

Malcolm Blight delivered Adelaide its only two AFL flags while Robert Shaw failed to make the finals. Where do the eight full-time coaches in the club’s history rank? SEE OUR LIST

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In the wake of his resignation, will Don Pyke go down as Adelaide’s second-best senior coach, behind two-time premiership winner Malcolm Blight?

We break down the numbers and records of Adelaide’s eight full-time senior coaches and rank them in order of success and influence.

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Malcolm Blight holding the premiership cup with captain Mark Bickley in 1998.

1. Malcolm Blight (1997-1999)

Matches: 74 games

Wins: 41

Losses: 33

Win percentage: 55.40%

Premierships: 2 (1997, 1998)

Grand finals: 2

Minor premierships: 0

Weeks at No. 1 on AFL ladder: 1

Finals record: 7 wins, 1 losses

Best finish: Premier (1997,1998)

Biggest win: 137 points v Richmond, Round 17, 1997

Biggest loss: 118 points v Sydney, Round 20, 1999

All-Australians: Mark Ricciuto (1997, 1998), Tony Modra (1997), Shaun Rehn (1998), Nigel Smart (1998), Andrew McLeod (1998), Ben Hart (1999)

After Adelaide finished 12th under Robert Shaw in 1996, the ‘Messiah’ took over, cleaning out the playing list, with inaugural captain Chris McDermott, Tony McGuinness Andrew Jarman, Greg Anderson and Wayne Weidemann among the names to move on. And the rest is history. Blight won seven of eight finals and delivered the club its only two premierships in 1997 and 1998.

Don Pyke addressing the Crows at three-quarter time of the 2017 preliminary final against Geelong. Picture: Sarah Reed

2. Don Pyke (2016-2019)

Matches: 93

Wins: 56

Losses: 36

Draw: 1

Win percentage: 60.75%

Premierships: 0

Grand finals: 1 (2017)

Minor premierships: 1 (2017)

Weeks at No. 1 on AFL ladder: 18

Finals record: 3 wins, 2 losses

Best finish: Runner-up (2017)

Biggest win: 138 points v Brisbane, Round 20, 2016

Biggest loss: 91 points v Melbourne, Round 10, 2018

All-Australians: Rory Laird (2017, 2018), Eddie Betts (2016, 2017), Rory Sloane (2016), Daniel Talia (2016), Matt Crouch (2017)

In Pyke’s final nine matches in charge of Adelaide, the Crows recorded just two wins. But, at the end of his four-year tenure, he goes down in the history books as only the second coach to take to club to a grand final. And the 18 weeks the Crows spent on top of the AFL ladder under his reign is eight more than in Neil Craig’s eight seasons. All after taking over in difficult circumstances after the Phil Walsh tragedy.

Neil Craig in 2010 talking to his chargers in Showdown 29.

3. Neil Craig (2004-2011)

Matches: 166

Wins: 92

Losses: 74

Win percentage: 55.42%

Premierships: 0

Grand finals: 0

Minor premierships: (1) 2005

Weeks at No. 1 on AFL ladder: 10

Finals record: 3 wins, 6 losses

Best finish: Preliminary final (2005, 2006)

Biggest win: 138 points v Essendon, Round 10, 2006

Biggest loss: 141 points v Brisbane, Round 17, 2004

All-Australians: Simon Goodwin (2005, 2006, 2009), Mark Ricciuto (2004, 2005), Andrew McLeod (2006, 2007), Nathan Bock (2008), Ben Rutten (2005), Nathan Bassett (2006).

Craig, who took over from Gary Ayres, is Adelaide’s longest-serving senior coach and his nine finals appearances is a club record. Craig’s philosophies and high-standards had a major impact on the club over eight years and he took Adelaide to five consecutive finals series (2005-2009) and its first minor premiership in 2005. But, in an era which promised so much, back-to-back preliminary finals losses — one at home — to West Coast will always leave Crows fans asking what could’ve been?

Wayne Weidemann, coach Graham Cornes, Rodney Maynard, assistant coach Michael Taylor and Ben Hart at Crows training in 1994. Picture: Ray Titus

4. Graham Cornes (1991-1994)

Matches: 89

Wins: 43

Losses: 45

Draw: 1

Win percentage: 48.88%

Premierships: 0

Grand finals: 0

Minor premierships: 0

Weeks at No. 1 on AFL ladder: 4

Finals record: 1 win, 2 losses

Best finish: Preliminary final (1993)

Biggest win: 139 points v Richmond, Round 16, 1993

Biggest loss: 131 points v St Kilda, Round 7, 1991

All-Australians: Ben Hart (1992, 1993), Tony McGuinness (1992, 1993), Chris McDermott (1992), Greg Anderson (1993), Nigel Smart (1993), Tony Modra (1993), Mark Ricciuto (1993), Shaun Rehn (1994)

While Cornes’ Crows only made the finals in one of his four seasons in charge, the inaugural coach had the difficult task of bringing Adelaide’s squad, a motley crew of players from the SANFL and others lured home from other AFL clubs, together for the first time in 1991. The infamous preliminary final of 1993, when the Crows coughed up a 41-point halftime lead to lose by 11, will, like Craig’s preliminary finals, be remembered as a what-if moment for all involved.

An angry Brenton Sanderson address his players in 2014. Picture: Sarah Reed.

5. Brenton Sanderson (2012-2014)

Matches: 69

Wins: 39

Losses: 30

Win percentage: 56.52%

Premierships: 0

Grand finals: 0

Minor premierships: 0

Weeks at No. 1 on AFL ladder: 0

Finals record: 1 wins, 2 losses

Best finish: Preliminary final (2012)

Biggest win: 135 points v GWS, Round 7, 2013

Biggest loss: 77 points v Sydney, Round 21, 2013

All-Australians: Patrick Dangerfield (2012, 2013), Scott Thompson (2012), Daniel Talia (2014), Brodie Smith (2014)

In his first season at West Lakes, Sanderson took an Adelaide side, which finished 14th on the ladder in 2011, to a preliminary final against Hawthorn at the MCG. The Crows were brave, hitting the front in the last quarter before going down by five points, in what was a positive start for the rookie coach. But the Crows failed to make the finals in the next two seasons and despite boasting the best win percentage of any of the club’s senior coaches at the time, Sanderson was sacked at the end of 2014.

Phil Walsh, right, with Rory Sloane at Football Park in June, 2016. Picture: Stephen Laffer

6. Phil Walsh (2015)

Matches: 12 games

Win: 7

Losses: 5

Win percentage: 58%

Biggest win: 77 points v North Melbourne, Round 11, 2015

Biggest loss: 57 points v Western Bulldogs, Round 4, 2015

Weeks at No. 1 on AFL ladder: 3

All-Australians: Eddie Betts (2015), Patrick Dangerfield (2015)

Walsh only led the Crows in 12 premiership fixtures — winning seven of them — before his tragic death on July 3, 2015 but the impact of his short time at West Lakes continues to live on. The experienced Walsh’s mantra of elite standards and team-first action resonated with a playing group which wavered in Sanderson’s final year.

Gary Ayres, pictured at Subiaco oval in 2004, coached Adelaide for 107 matches.

7. Gary Ayres (2000-2004)

Matches: 107

Wins: 55

L osses: 52

Win percentage: 52.48%

Premierships: 0

Grand finals: 0

Minor premierships: 0

Finals record: 2 wins, 6 losses

Best finish: Preliminary final (2002)

Biggest win: 97 points v St Kilda, Round 15, 2001

Biggest loss: 114 points v West Coast, Round 4, 2000

All-Australians: Mark Ricciuto (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004), Simon Goodwin (2000, 2001), Andrew McLeod (2001), Ben Hart (2002)

In a sign of the club’s consistent success, Ayres, who is Adelaide’s second-longest serving coach, led the Crows to three top-eight finishes and a preliminary final in 2012, yet still slides to seventh on the list. But just two wins from eight finals matches will also be a blemish on his coaching record at West Lakes.

Robert Shaw, right, sits next to Mark Ricciuto on the Crows’ bench in 1996.

8. Robert Shaw (1995-1996)

Matches: 44

Win: 17

Losses: 27

Win percentage: 38.64%

Premierships: 0

Grand finals: 0

Minor premierships: 0

Weeks at No. 1 on AFL ladder: 1

Finals record: No appearance

Best finish: 11th (1995)

Biggest win: 99 points v Fitzroy, Round 17, 1996

Biggest loss: 135 points v West Coast, Round 19, 1995

All-Australians: Darren Jarman (1996)

Shaw, who was only at the helm for two seasons, is Adelaide’s only senior coach to not make the finals. He took over from Cornes at the end of 1994 but handed over the reins to Blight two years later, winning just 17 of his 44 matches in charge.

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