Adelaide Crows’ success is built on a team ethos, not individuals, says assistant coach Scott Camporeale
SCOTT Camporeale says Adelaide’s finals thumping of GWS without star midfielder Rory Sloane is proof that its success is built on a team ethos rather than individuals.
SCOTT Camporeale says Adelaide’s finals thumping of GWS without star midfielder Rory Sloane is proof its success is built on a team ethos rather than individuals.
While possible preliminary final opponent Geelong appears reliant on star on-ballers Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood, Crows assistant coach Camporeale declared his club had been assembled around player depth and a sharing the load mentality that stands up in September.
“That’s always been our philosophy, we’d rather have a team than one or two jets that stand out every week because that doesn’t win finals,’’ he said.
“We’re about the collective, we’re not about one player and never have been, we’re not interested in that.
“We’re about weight of numbers, particularly in the midfield, where we don’t rely on one player.’’
After a season of living with the tag ‘no Sloane, no Crows’ after it struggled in the middle part of the year when its prime midfielder was tagged, Adelaide — with Sloane sidelined following an appendectomy — emphatically showed in the six-goal qualifying final win against the Giants that it has built a strong midfield unit.
“I’ve been really proud of them,’’ midfield coach Camporeale said.
“Everyone wrote us off when Paddy (Dangerfield) wasn’t going to be here (joining Geelong at the end of 2015) but we found a couple of players and others went to another level.
“Then everyone wrote us off last year over the pre-season because we didn’t get Bryce Gibbs.
“Internally we always understood the talent that we’ve got here and the need to develop those guys.
“(All-Australian) Matty Crouch was always going to go to another level and Brad (Crouch) was always going to be good once he got fit and was able to get a good run at it.
“Richard Douglas is back playing his best footy, Hugh Greenwood has come in from a different background (basketball) and has added something different, Paul Seedsman has come in and played his role and Rory Atkins has gone to another level too.’’
Camporeale described the Crouch brothers as “finals type players in terms of winning their own ball and setting the standard for the rest of the group’’.
Sloane will be back for the preliminary final against either Geelong or Sydney at Adelaide Oval on Friday week.
The Crows will be without 2014 All-Australian Brodie Smith, who will miss a year after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against the Giants.
While Sloane for Smith appears the likely change with Seedsman or David Mackay taking Smith’s spot at half-back, Camporeale did not rule out other changes.