AFL greats Jason Dunstall and Matthew Pavlich join four-person panel to review Adelaide Crows
After much speculation the Crows have revealed two AFL greats as the final two members of the four-person panel that will conduct an external review into the club.
The Adelaide Crows have announced AFL hall of famer Jason Dunstall and six-time All-Australian Matthew Pavlich as the final two members of their four-person panel which will conduct an external review into the on field and off-field performance of the club.
The two football greats will sit alongside high performance expert Tim Gabbett and one of the country’s premier leadership and performance experts Jonah Oliver on the four-person panel.
Dunstall will chair the panel, while Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan will provide support.
Crows head of football, Brett Burton, welcomed the process, which will examine all elements that impact on-field performance, including coaching, leadership, development, environment, high performance and list management.
“It’s part of the industry that we’re in, it’s a high performance industry,” Burton told media outside the club’s West Lakes headquarters on Friday.
“I’ve said to the staff and players internally that I’m genuinely excited by a review.
“We do reviews every year because the reality is we operate in an 18-team competition where only one team wins and so you’re always reviewing how you can get better.
“We had an external review last year as well as part of our high performance program and we made some changes and those changes have come to fruition.
“So, I’m excited by it, it’s a great opportunity to look at ways to get better and improve, so I’m certainly not stressed or worried about it.
“I think it’s good business practice and it’s certainly welcome.”
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Burton said he’d heard the commentary around why the need for external people to review the club, but he said using external experts was good business practice.
“You do your own internal reviews to review what you know about the program and the people and then you use externals to be able to validate that and test your theories and again that’s just good business practice,” he said.
“We know our own business, but it doesn’t hurt to get another set of eyes on it as well and again it’s just good process.”
After a disappointing season that saw Adelaide finish 11th with a 10-12 win-loss record, the Crows announced on Monday that it had commenced a review of its football operations.
Crows chairman Rob Chapman said consecutive seasons of missing finals demanded a more thorough examination of football structures, systems and personnel.
“Recent results have fallen short of our own expectations and those of our passionate and loyal members and supporters, who like us are very frustrated and disappointed,” Chapman said.
“We must identify any deficiencies, challenge ourselves and focus on improvement with a view to delivering consistent performances and sustained success in a fiercely competitive league.
“Having a number of experts with specific skillsets and expertise, as well as intimate knowledge of the modern game and high performance environments, will ensure there is meaningful feedback that can support positive change.”
On Monday, the club announced renowned high performance expert Tim Gabbett, who has more than two decades of international experience working with athletes across a range of sports, and one of the country’s premier leadership and performance experts Jonah Oliver, who is also the lead sports psychologist for the Australian Institute of Sport, as the first two people involved in the review.
The Crows will release the key findings upon completion of the review, which is expected to run for several weeks.