Daniel Talia reveals player-driven meeting to whip the Adelaide Crows back into shape

LEADERSHIP member Daniel Talia has admitted some Crows did not return to pre-season training in acceptable physical condition, prompting the players to hold a meeting to address the situation.

Adelaide Crows training at Football Park earlier this week. Picture: Picture: AAP Image/MATT LOXTON

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LEADERSHIP member Daniel Talia has admitted some Crows did not return to pre-season training in acceptable physical condition, prompting the players to hold a meeting to address the situation.

“We were a bit behind where we needed to be,’’ the ace key defender said after word had leaked out that some players had been spoken to about the way they presented themselves when the beaten grand finalist returned to training last month.

“We’re an honest group, we know when we run certain times and we do a certain type of pre-season that it sets us up for the year.

“There’s a formula behind that and we’ve got to keep hitting those marks.

“The meetings were player-run, not aggressive at all, just being honest with each other and letting each other know we’ve got to improve.

“That’s certainly happened the past three weeks and we’re in a really good spot now.”

The Crows on Friday finished their pre-Christmas pre-season training program with a tough session in the heat at Football Park, with Talia saying all is now well.

Crows players in a festive mood at fan day for Football Park this week. Picture: AAP Image/MATT LOXTON

The dual All-Australian said a combination of a shorter break after playing in the grand final against Richmond on September 30 and players recovering from off-season surgeries and “niggles’’ had led to the group being below their best at the start of pre-season.

The Crows’ 1-4 year players started training on November 20 while the senior players returned on December 4.

“We had two weeks less holidays and there were guys who had niggles and were coming off surgery who hadn’t run,” Talia said.

“And some (young) guys really don’t know how to train yet, when you first come into the system.

“It takes a couple of years to learn how to really train hard and meet those targets.

“That’s just an education thing for some younger guys.”

Talia said Adelaide’s senior group addressed the situation to try to avoid what happened to 2016 runner-up Sydney, which lost its first six games this year.

“We had to address that really quick because we saw what happened to Sydney last year, 0-6, we don’t want a repeat of that,” he said.

“We were a bit behind where we need to be, but I think we’ve caught that up now.

“You’ve got to set high standards and train and work hard because you don’t luck your way into a grand final, you’ve got to earn it.

“We’ve got to keep building habits and being elite in everything we do.”

Talia said the Crows players had some “pretty raw and really difficult’’ discussions and analysis with the coaches reviewing their grand final nightmare when they returned to pre-season training following the eight-goal loss to the Tigers.

But he believes the club can once again challenge for the premiership.

“We want another shot at it and feel like we can contend again,” he said.

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