Adelaide Crows ‘screaming out for what I can bring’, says new coach Matthew Nicks
Former Sydney player and South Australian Matthew Nicks will replace Don Pyke as Adelaide coach. And he says he is the perfect fit to help the club move on from a tumultuous two years.
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Newly appointed Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said he started preparing for the role as soon as it became available and believes he is perfect to help rebuild the club’s competitiveness on the field and culture off it.
Nicks, 44, did not apply for any other coaching vacancy this season but immediately set his sights on a South Australian homecoming when Don Pyke resigned last month.
He said it was still a tough decision to leave GWS where he was only one year into a three-year deal and had just been part of a grand final loss, but the opportunity to be part of Adelaide’s rejuvenation was too good to ignore.
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“It feels like I’m back home … I obviously spent eight years here with Port Adelaide so it’s good to be back,” Nicks said at his first press conference.
“The job had to fit and this one aligned, I have been ready to coach for a while, I was waiting for the right opportunity and this was it.
“The style of coach that I am, the Adelaide Footy Club was screaming out for what I can bring, I came in and sat down with the panel and went through quite a process, they were very professional in the way they ran that, and the longer I sat through that, the stronger I was that this was the right fit.
“They have a fantastic playing group, fantastic core group of players and they’re also in a position where they want to rejuvenate that list a little so we have some young players who will get that opportunity and I’m really excited about that.”
Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan said the selection panel met with Nicks three times and with each meeting it became more obvious that he was the right man for the job.
“It was a really thorough process conducted over the last three or four weeks, we spoke to a lot of people not just candidates but people right throughout the industry and we were unanimous in recommending that Matt be provided the role and endorsed.
“That went to the board of the footy club last night and again was met with unanimous endorsement.”
Nicks has already started contacting players including senior leaders Taylor Walker, Rory Sloane and best-and-fairest Brad Crouch.
“A lot of people talk about my ability to build relationships, I’ve been in that space right from the start and I believe if you want to be successful you have to have mutual respect and a good relationship between both coach and player,” Nicks said.
“Some of the most successful teams around the world let alone our game you can see a culture of mutual respect, working together and good people in the organisation - people who put others first as a priority, so I will be pushing that from this moment forward with our playing group, administration and football department. We put ourselves second and teammates first as well as colleagues.”
Nicks becomes the ninth full-time senior coach of the Adelaide Crows and joins the club on a three-year deal.
He beat candidates such as Hawthorn pair Adem Yze and Scott Burns, Collingwood’s Garry Hocking and St Kilda legend Robert Harvey.
The Crows announced the appointment on social media, with a video montage showing his eight predecessors.
Introducing our new Senior Coach... #weflyasone pic.twitter.com/XjNk3xbssR
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) October 15, 2019
Before he moved to Western Sydney, helping the Giants to their first ever grand final, Nicks spent eight years as an assistant coach at Port Adelaide.
He played 175 games for the Sydney Swans after being drafted from West Adelaide and missed out on their 2005 grand final win through injury.
He is considered to be excellent at building relationships, which the Crows are looking for after two tough years.
In a statement, Crows chairman Rob Chapman said Nicks’ character was just as important as his coaching ability, both of which he had nothing but praise for.
“Our club is embarking upon an exciting new era and Matthew is the perfect person to guide and develop our talented playing list as it goes through a period of rejuvenation,” Chapman said.
Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan, one of the four-man panel who decided upon Nicks, said the 44-year-old impressed in each stage of the process.
“Matthew is incredibly well-rounded and matched up extremely well against the attributes that we were targeting,” Fagan said.
“He is recognised for his ability to build strong and sustainable personal relationships, as well as being an excellent communicator and has significant finals experience as a player and coach.
“Importantly, he also possesses a sharp tactical nous and is clearly ready to coach his own team at the elite level.”