Five months after leading external review at Adelaide, Jason Dunstall says the club has effected the right changes to move forward
Of everything Jason Dunstall uncovered during Adelaide’s external review last year, one thing emerged as a key to its healing. Chief sports writer Reece Homfray spoke to him and other experts last week about the Crows’ cultural rebuild.
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After the purging comes the healing.
And when Jason Dunstall walked into Crows HQ at West Lakes to interview every player as part of an external review into exactly what was wrong with their football club last September, the recovery had already started.
The four-times Hawthorn premiership player thought he had a reasonable idea of what Adelaide’s problems were from the outside looking in, but what shocked him was the level of division and dysfunction.
“What surprised me was the depth of some of those issues,” Dunstall told The Advertiser at the Fox Footy season launch in Melbourne last week.
“I take my hat off to the board because they were probably aware of most things as well, but needed confirmation and probably they didn’t realise how deep some of the issues were as well.”
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But amid that grim process of naming, blaming and replaying what had unfolded in the two years since the 2017 grand final, Dunstall began to see a ray of hope.
“From the guys I spoke to, there are some really good middle core players that want to take the club forward,” he said.
“The players are passionate, they wanted the club to be better and they all had opinions about different areas which is great, and is what you want, but they were desperate to turn things around and they just needed a little bit of guidance.
“The players wanted to fix things, they just didn’t know how, and they needed some help.
“(Now) they’ve done their due diligence, it doesn’t guarantee every decision is going to be right but at least you’re armed with the best information.”
WHAT WAS WRONG?
So, what exactly was the situation Dunstall walked into after the Crows had missed finals for the second-straight season and Don Pyke had resigned as coach with two years left to run on his contract?
“It was an environment that desperately required change,” Dunstall said.
“Let’s just say it was a little dysfunctional in terms of groups not working together, so if they all band together they’re very well-placed to rebuild the culture quickly.
“They had to arrest that as quickly as possible and to their credit they made some courageous decisions.
“It wasn’t just the (change of) coach, I enjoyed talking to Pykey, I like the way he talks about the game as well.
“But they had just got themselves in a situation where they needed to make some changes and they did.”
Dunstall – and Fremantle legend Matthew Pavlich, who also led the review – had a unique insight into the inner workings of the club.
Everyone else was making their own assumptions based on what they could see from the outside.
“Well, to start with, it’s impossible for anyone from outside the football club to have a complete understanding of what the culture inside the football club looks like,” former St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt said.
“All you can do is make assumptions based on what you see, and exactly what the culture at Adelaide is or was, I’m not entirely sure.”
North Melbourne premiership player David King said it appeared to be a marriage that had fractured beyond repair.
“From the outside looking in it was a bad marriage, there were some tested relationships and once you haven’t got that 100 per cent buy-in in this competition you’re gone, you lose games you shouldn’t and everyone loses that edge that you’ve got to have,” he said.
WHAT SHOULD FANS EXPECT?
Most agree the Crows have done the right thing by hitting re-set on their football department and list, but it will take time to see the results.
Not one of the 17 rival captains at their annual pre-season gathering on Tuesday tipped Adelaide to make finals this season.
“What that translates to in terms of on-field results is hard to quantify,” Dunstall said.
“I’m not expecting miracles from them, it might take a couple of years, but I think they’re headed in the right direction and the clear message when we looked at it last year was direction-wise, they’re going the wrong way.”
Triple Brisbane Lions premiership forward Alastair Lynch said taking a long-term view to rebuilding a list was the only way to achieve sustained success.
“Without knowing a heap about it, it looks like they’re trying to change things and rejuvenate the list, but it can’t be a quick fix,” he said.
“From the outside I’m thinking middle of the road, not making finals this year and building the foundations to go ahead.
“The quick fixes don’t tend to work or they’re not sustainable.”
King and Riewoldt aren’t expecting finals but are excited about what the Crows might produce.
“There’s a lot of talent at Adelaide, and the changes you can see already is a lot of speed in that forwardline, it’s not reliant on scoring out of the back half anymore,” King said.
“Trust the kids, it bodes well for the future, what does it mean for 2020? I think the club is wise enough to know this is going to take a bit of time.”
Riewoldt added: “I think they’re hard to get a read on to be honest”.
“But when you have the calibre of players on the list, I’m excited to see them play.
“They’ve been pretty settled for a long time now so I’m excited to see Fogarty get an opportunity as one of the more focal points in the forwardline.
“From Tex’s (Taylor Walker) point of view I went through something similar where you relinquish the captaincy and clearly the age demographic has changed with more youth.
“I found it really refreshing, so I think we’ll see Tex bounce back this year in a big way, almost like the shackles are off a bit.
“You can come at your leadership from a different angle so I’m excited for Tex, I think he’s primed to have a good year.”
WHAT TO MAKE OF MATTHEW NICKS?
None of the four have had any meaningful contact with Matthew Nicks apart from playing against him, but say it appears to be a good appointment.
“It’s the old saying a change is as good as a holiday, but a change gives everyone a breath of fresh air so all of a sudden the things you’ve been upset with in the past doesn’t matter, everyone starts with a clean slate,” Dunstall said.
“You get a chance to make good relationships, get a different game style and game plan, everyone gets a fresh lease of life.”
King said he has studied Nicks’ ball movement work at GWS.
“Look, there’s no doubt he’s a good football brain, but all these guys are,” King said.
“His relationship stuff and desire to unite the club is really evident and strong, so let’s wait and see.”
WHAT DOES GOOD CULTURE LOOK LIKE?
It’s the million-dollar question in football.
Easy to say, hard to describe, but Riewoldt warns against getting caught up in a correlation between winning games and having a good culture.
“It’s what underpins everything, but it’s easy to look at the teams that are going really well and say ‘they’ve got a great culture’ and it doesn’t always marry up like that,” he said.
“At times you need to cut through just the results, I think ultimately your culture, when you boil it all down, the reason you have it is to try to get great effort out of your people, and that is one thing that is there for us all to see on game day.”
Dunstall says it involves everyone at a football club.
“Gee, that’s a broad question,” he said.
“It’s got to be driven by everyone, but (at) the great clubs the players love each other and they love the environment, so they’re all willing to do whatever it takes to get the best out of every person there.
“It’s respect for the other staff around them, not just the football department but the entire club, for the environment, it’s a commitment to each other to do the best and help you be the best you can.”
King said it means “everyone has got each other’s back”.
“That you’re genuine in your care for each other, out of hours, embracing the families of the players, the challenges of those players who have come to your football club, not everyone comes in great circumstances,” King said.
“It’s not just the player, it’s the family and partners, the want to come to the club and it’s a bit of a sanctuary that regardless of the pressure of the outside world ‘you’re okay, you’re one of us’.
“There is a love for the club, a genuine love for what the staff and coaches are doing, you start growing in the same direction in time things can happen pretty quickly.
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“Ultimately, when you’re going through a bit of a trough it’s good to have the support around you to help you get through it as quick as you can.
“And when things are good you become the giver, you’re out there gathering.”
Lynch echoed that sentiment.
“We’ve all seen bad cultures at work or footy clubs, and a good culture is when you enjoy being around the place,” he said.
“The right people around where you can challenge and push each other and sometimes have some hard conversations, and you’re bringing the right quality of people in.
“It’s not all about talent, because talent can get you the gig but the modern game is so structured these days if you haven’t got everyone pulling in the right direction, then your success is not going to be sustainable.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au