Club legends Tony Modra and Tyson Edwards implore Adelaide to keep Eddie Betts as speculation mounts about his future
The Crows can’t let fan favourite Eddie Betts fly away, say club greats Tony Modra and Tyson Edwards.
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Adelaide greats Tony Modra and Tyson Edwards have implored the club to keep star pocket rocket Eddie Betts at West Lakes next season.
As speculation intensifies about Betts’ future, including one media report that claims Betts has already made up his mind and is to rejoin Carlton, Modra said the 32-year-old still had at least one more good season left in him.
Betts’ manager Garry Winter said last night “we’re not making any official comment.”
Modra said Betts’ ability to “bring fans through the gates’’ should not be overlooked in any discussion about his importance to the club.
“I would definitely be keeping Eddie Betts at the Adelaide Football Club,’’ Modra told The Advertiser.
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“He showed enough this year to suggest he could easily fulfil the final year of his contract.
“Forget pushing him up the field, just stick him in a forward pocket, close to goal and let him do his business.
“He’ll still take a main backman because defenders know how dangerous he can be and I’ve got no doubt that he would still be a valuable player for the Crows for at least one more year.’’
Former high-flying full forward Modra, who kicked a club-record 440 goals in 118 games for Adelaide from 1992-98 before being controversially traded to Fremantle, said Betts’ popularity among the fans should also work in his favour as the Crows make some tough list management calls on an ageing player list.
“Eddie brings people through the gates and those players are hard to find, particularly in modern football,’’ Modra said.
“Everyone loves watching him play. Obviously he didn’t have his greatest season this year but he still kicked 37 goals, which was handy, and I'm sure would be able to contribute strongly again.
“I know a lot of other clubs would love to have him.’’
Betts, who has kicked 600 goals in his 316-game career, has one more year to run on the three-year contract extension he signed with Adelaide in 2017.
But with the Crows — who have the second-oldest list in the competition — going through a transitional phase after missing the finals in consecutive years following their 2017 grand final loss, there has been suggestions Betts could be traded to a rival for draft picks.
Brilliant small forward Betts says he has had interest from Gold Coast for next season but that he hadn’t received an offer from the Suns or any other rival club.
His former club the Blues are also reported to be in the mix for him.
“I can say right now, honestly, there’s been no offer made to me from Gold Coast or any other team,’’ Betts told FIVEaa.
“There’s been interest, but there’s no offer that’s been made.”
Betts has played the past six seasons at the Crows, kicking 310 goals in 132 games, leading the club’s goalkicking in four consecutive years from 2014-17 and earning three All-Australian selections.
But he was kept goalless six times this year and was controversially dropped for the round 18 clash against Carlton at the MCG.
Edwards, who ranks second in games at Adelaide with 321 from 1995-2010 and played in the club’s 1997 and ‘98 premiership teams, said the Crows “should definitely keep Eddie’’.
“He wasn’t at his brilliant best this year, which was understandable given he is in his 30s, but he was still reasonable and still appears to have the energy, fitness and dangerous look around goal to warrant at least playing out his contract,’’ Edwards said.
“He also brings the other stuff, people through the gates, the fact supporters love him, he is a likeable guy and does a lot of great work off the field.
“He’s the type of guy who helps develop younger players, like a Tyson Stengle who he might be able to turn into the next Eddie, so it would be silly not to keep him around.’’
New Carlton coach David Teague, a former Blues teammate of Betts who was his forward line coach at Adelaide from 2015-17, left the door slightly ajar for a reunion.
“Personally, I love him,” Teague told RSN.
“I spent three years at Adelaide with him and he’s a really close friend, so I’m biased.
“This is where the list management side of things will come in, but we need to balance up our list and make sure we’re probably looking down the track, so it’s probably a hard one to answer and I’d have to sort of step back a little bit because I’m a close friend and love him as a person.
“It’s hard for me to talk from a football club point of view.”