Don Pyke ready to deliver Phil Walsh’s ultimate vision for the Adelaide Crows
DON Pyke’s army ventures to the MCG fixed on reclaiming the Holy Grail for a new Messiah — 20 years after Malcolm Blight drank from the Cup, writes Richard Earle.
A SOLITARY red oak sapling on Adelaide Oval’s fringes responds knowingly to spring’s initial, nourishing rays — channelling the fallen Crows mentor it memorialises.
In a spiritual September restoration Taylor Walker’s men will on Saturday honour late Adelaide boss Phil Walsh’s vision — body, mind and soul at football’s theatre of dreams.
On appointment in 2015 Walsh sincerely decreed a vanquished Crows list that finished 10th the previous season would win a flag in 2017.
Respected Don Pyke was scouted by club legend Mark Ricciuto to drive and complete Walsh’s blueprint. Few thought Walsh’s successor could work to a gloriously ambitious timeline.
Fortunately, Adelaide has been blessed by a triumvirate of contrasting, coaching virtuosos.
The “one thing” 2003 Brownlow Medallist and Crows board member Ricciuto kept hearing from those canvassed about Walsh was tactical genius.
Original Messiah Malcolm Blight delivered Adelaide’s inaugural premiership through mad genius while Pyke’s the conventional kind.
Blight delved into a bag of psychological tricks that wrapped players with a ring of confidence to create history in 1997. Shane Ellen recalls how Blight, with magical authority, told players using the visiting rooms at the MCG on grand final day when wearing white shorts was “lucky”. The seed was sewn in unheralded defender Ellen, kicking five match-winning goals against St Kilda.
Pyke has armed his men with the resilience, framework, belief and poise to confront unprecedented AFL tragedy and the unknown today against Richmond at the MCG. There’s method to the man who made a fortune during Western Australia’s resources boom.
Adelaide’s distinct 2017 grand final narrative has its origins in darkness.
Premiers typically triumph over adversity to win flags — that’s the nature of a ruthless caper. Luke Beveridge’s Western Bulldogs overcame half a century of heartbreak to win against the odds from seventh spot last season.
Richmond players tell you what a revelation coach Damien Hardwick has proven in Richmond’s 37th season without a flag.
“Dimma” has shed the shackles, giving forwards freedom to prosper and make mistakes without fear of reprisal. It’s a script right out of Blight’s playbook.
However, it’s taken inspired coach-of-the-year Hardwick, who narrowly escaped dismissal last season, eight years to refine his body of work.
Pyke has mastered the art of coaching inside two seasons and 25 years after winning the first of two flags as a midfielder with West Coast. It’s a fast paced evolution that straddles Pyke’s business acumen and aura as the Mr Perfect who plays golf off scratch.
“Pykey’s been a rock with the stability he has brought to this footy club. To turn things around in two years has been incredible,” Richard Douglas told The Advertiser.
The team-first foundation laid by Walsh has been augmented by Pyke. Adelaide has reconnected with — and captured the imagination of — a devoted fan base on Pyke’s watch.
Christians make pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Pyke’s army ventures to the MCG fixed on reclaiming the Holy Grail for a new Messiah — 20 years after Blight drank from the Cup.
The minor premier will concede home ground advantage to Richmond but Adelaide has only known the sweet scent of victory when figuring on the last Saturday in September. A third triumph beckons.
There’s something about symmetry. It’s been two decades since captain Mark Bickley raised Adelaide’s first premiership Cup at the MCG, the time it takes an oak tree to flower.