Veteran Crow Richard Douglas to bow out at West Lakes after 14 seasons but leaves door open to continuing career elsewhere
One of Adelaide’s most loyal servants Richard Douglas has announced he will depart West Lakes at season’s end after a decorated career. Is he the first card to fall? See video of him breaking the news to teammates.
The first real casualty of Adelaide’s impending list overhaul has been revealed, with club champion Richard Douglas explaining his decision to leave West Lakes was spurred by the Crows’ plans for the future.
But Adelaide coach Don Pyke says he believes there is no impending cull of senior Crows, despite the looming off-season predicted to be a busy one for the club.
The Crows announced on Thursday that Douglas, who will play his 246th match for the club against the Bulldogs on Sunday, would retire as an Adelaide player at the season’s end.
It follows on from Crows veteran defender Andy Otten who on Tuesday announced his retirement.
But the 32-year-old Douglas, the Crows’ 2010 club champion, said while his goal was to get into coaching, especially youth development, if another AFL team or even a SANFL club made an offer for 2020 he would look at it.
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“It’s time (to leave), the club is looking to go down another direction, they need to get some youth into the list and for my time’s been,” he said.
“(I’d) certainly consider any option (to continue playing), the body feels good.
“You’d never say never so if any other club is interested I would look at it but certainly want to transition into coaching (at some point).”
A club such as the Gold Coast Suns is on the lookout for experienced players to help its younger brigade, and then transition into coaching.
Douglas said that would interest him.
“You would be silly not to look at it,” he said.
“But I’m not certain of what the landscape is, I haven’t spoken to any other clubs … that’s something we’ll work through over the next month or two months.
“I’m finishing my time at the Adelaide Footy Club … that’s as far as it goes really, I’m open to other things like other players who have retired recently are.
“I understand there are clubs on the lookout for experienced players so if they approach you and the fit’s right well then you entertain it.”
Crows coach Don Pyke said Douglas had been a loyal and passionate clubman who would make a great coach.
But Pyke said he believed Douglas’ departure wouldn’t be the start of a mass cull of the Crows’ older brigade.
“I’m not necessarily guided by purely age … but we need to continue to move forward and unfortunately there are the decisions that we need to take in our stride,” he said.
“If that is the path we choose to take (go for youth) … I still think there’s a place for a lot of our senior players in terms of their capacity to play the game at a really high standard.
“I don’t think you’re ringing a bell saying this is the start of a new dawn, or the end of an era. This is a couple of guys who have reached a decision to move on from their footy journey at the Adelaide Crows.
“That’s what it is and now it is about recognising the contribution that these guys have made.”
Other Crows veterans have also been linked to moves away West Lakes, including three-time Showdown Medallist Sam Jacobs — who is drawing interest from the GWS Giants.
Pyke said he had not directly broached the subject with the ruckman but hoped the recently minted 200-gamer would stay.
“There are reports of other players meeting with clubs, I think that is more the norm now,” he said.
“If that’s the case we are super keen for Sam to stay at the footy club... and we’ve approached his manager.”
Douglas arrived at the Crows from Victoria after being picked up at No. 16 in the 2005 draft.
He won the Malcolm Blight Medal as club champion in 2010 and was a runner-up in 2013. He has also won the club’s best team man award three times.
Douglas will play his last game for the Crows on Sunday if they can’t conquer the rampaging Western Bulldogs in Ballarat.
