Adelaide coach Heath Younie claims club fully invested in bid for SANFL premiership
Adelaide showed the extent of its investment in the chase for SANFL glory with a powerful statement against Norwood.
Local Footy
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Footy. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Crows run Legs off their feet in emphatic win
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription
Adelaide’s state league coach Heath Younie is adamant the negativity hanging over the club is having no impact on the side’s bid for the SANFL premiership.
While he noted the “external noise”, Younie said the Crows had been really clear in their responsibility to the football club.
“We are representing the Adelaide Football Club and regardless of what is going on, we are clear in our minds what we are doing,” he said.
“The noise will be the noise, but there are a lot of AFL listed players here, the co-captain Rory Sloane is here and the senior coach Don Pyke is here, and they are fully invested.”
Younie claimed the efforts of veteran Andy Otten were glaring evidence of the depth of investment the club has in its bid for the state league flag.
Stream over 50 sports live and on demand with KAYO SPORTS. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly >
Last week, the defender got off his “death bed” to front in the qualifying final against Port Adelaide and his leadership was again a key factor in the first semi-final victory over Norwood at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
“It shows he is serious and wants to win,” Younie said.
Younie acknowledges the criticism aimed at his club in the state league and says people are entitled to their opinion.
“I have a clear philosophy, as does the club, we need to develop players in positions to play AFL football,” he said. “However, we are in the SANFL finals series and winning finals are tough, no matter the level.
“It is about wanting to create a winning culture and we want to give ourselves the opportunity to go as far as we can.
“The development comes in the experience Ned McHenry, Chayce Jones, Jordon Butts, Kieran Strachan, Lachlan Sholl, Will Hamill, those young players get in finals. That is development.”
Three-times Redlegs premiership player Brady Dawe retired after the game.
Coach Jarrod Cotton said the club would review its list, as well as what went wrong and what worked this season.
“It is about looking at the list, what do we need to get, what juniors are we going to focus on,” Cotton said. “There might be a few who might drop off.
“We had a lot of sore boys during the week, but there are no excuses. You never know the mindset of the AFL players, but when they have a mindset like that ... they tackled really well and their skills are elite. That is what they do for a living.”
