Andy Otten said the stress of Adelaide’s tumultuous season got the better of coach Don Pyke
Stress had taken its toll on coach Don Pyke, according to retired Crow Andy Otten.
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Retired Crow Andy Otten said the stress of AFL coaching had got the better of Don Pyke who was the fifth AFL coach to depart in 2019.
Otten said it was hard to watch Pyke, who won 56 of 93 games at the helm of Adelaide, walk away from the club last week.
“It was pretty sad to see Pykey call it quits, he caught a few people by surprise,’’ Otten said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“How deflated he kind of looked, that was pretty hard to see.
“It’s an interesting place at the moment, the leaders have got to get together, the playing group also have to have a look at themselves and take some of the responsibility.
“I was a bit surprised, he was pretty stressed out towards the end of it and the uncertainty with this review probably took its toll,’’ he said.
Otten said it was a multitude of things that saw Adelaide’s season unravel after the mid-year break.
“There was myriad of reasons, we were sitting pretty at the bye, we just beat Richmond and GWS as well,’’ Otten added.
“A little bit of everything, some of the better players down on form and younger players didn’t come on either.
“I think the frustration of it all started piling up, it just kept snowballing into this massive mountain at the end of the year,’’ he said.
Otten said he had already met with Matthew Pavlich as a part of the Adelaide review.
“I interviewed with Matty Pavlich last week and I’ll definitely put my hand up if anyone wants me to give my thoughts,’’ Otten said.
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Otten, who retired after the Crows were bundled out of the SANFL Finals by Glenelg last weekend, played 109 games and suffered two knee reconstructions during his 12 year AFL career and said it was a rollercoaster.
“It goes pretty bloody quick,’’ Otten said.
“There were times I didn’t like footy. I lost the love of it, I was almost angry at myself, frustrated with why I lost the passion.
“I got really frustrated, I was pretty down and out but I really enjoyed the last few years, especially this year, my enjoyment came from seeing my little daughter at games and coming home to her,’’ he said.
Otten said he was looking forward to the next phase of his football career with a desire to move into coaching.
“I definitely want to get into coaching, I’ve been working towards that the last two years,’’ he added.
And he said Sunday’s SANFL Grand Final would be a blockbuster and couldn’t split Glenelg and Port Adelaide.
“It’s a toss of the coin whichever key forwards get on top will win the game,’’ he said.