Collective Mind washes hands of controversial pre-season Crows camp saying program was of Adelaide’s design
COLLECTIVE Mind, the consultant the Crows hired to make the Adelaide players mentally stronger, has dismissed blame for the Gold Coast pre-season camp saying it acted as Adelaide’s football department asked.
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COLLECTIVE Mind has thrown the blame for the fallout from the controversial Crows pre-season camp back to West Lakes saying the Adelaide Football Club set the guidelines for the contentious focus on its players “hearts and minds”.
And rather than “clear the air” with its media conference at the MCG on Monday, Collective Minds has put itself at odds with the Crows version of the camp — in particular with the use of the Richmond club song.
Collective Mind boss Amon Woulfe says the Tigers anthem — that followed the Crows off the MCG in defeat at last year’s AFL grand final — was “absolutely not played” during the three-day camp on the Gold Coast in late January.
This contradicts Adelaide coach Don Pyke’s account from late June that the Richmond song was played but “not repeatedly”.
Woulfe washed his hands of the camp saying his management consultancy had to design a “new program” to meet the Crows’ wish to mentally strengthen its players. Pyke has repeatedly said he makes no apology for going down this path to find a new edge in sport.
Woulfe, who admitted no registered psychologist was among the 25 facilitators at the camp, says the camp was a “bespoke” program specifically fashioned by Adelaide’s football department led by Brett Burton.
“The brief was given to us by the Crows,” Woulfe said. “Working in close consultation with the club, we designed a new program around the Crows’ desired themes of authenticity, resilience and connection.
“This was a camp focused on the heart and mind, not the physical.”
But, Woulfe conceded, “we now know that some parts of the camp didn’t resonate with some players”.
Woulfe did not detail the rundown of the camp that has been described externally as “cult like”. He did dismiss some reports of the program as salacious, but wrong.
One of these claims was the Richmond club song being played on a loop as players were blindfolded on the team bus. Woulfe has confirmed the players were blindfolded, but “the Richmond theme song was not played on loop”
“It was not played at all,” Woulfe said. “There was a comedy routine in which a comedian sang a few bars. That’s it.
“The song on the bus, it absolutely was not played. Categorically, I was on the bus myself with another club official. The theme song was absolutely not played. It was not played on repeat. It just didn’t happen.”
Woulfe confirmed the players were split into three groups for differing programs on the Gold Coast. He dismissed as “nothing unusual” the need to take the players’ mobile phones from them during the day — a point that concerned small forward Eddie Betts’ wife who was pregnant with twins at the time.
Woulfe confirmed there was — as reported by The Advertiser in June — unease with Adelaide’s indigenous players, in particular now retired Curtly Hampton, with the use of a traditional Aboriginal “talking stick”.
“The player was unsure whether this was appropriate use or not,” Woulfe said. “We understand this was satisfactorily clarified by the player with indigenous elders within 72 hours of the camp ending.”
Collective Mind and the Crows ended their partnership in June. Woulfe says this was at his company’s choice.
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au