AFL round 12: Crows star Wayne Milera calls Sydney “rabble” after 90-point demolition

Wayne Milera raised eyebrows when he called Sydney “a bit of rabble” on radio after Adelaide’s 90-point win on Saturday night. Those comments have divided opinion, with a past great calling them disrespectful.

Adelaide has reached out to Sydney to clarify defender Wayne Milera’s post-game labelling of the Swans as a “rabble”.

After the Crows’ 90-point win over the Swans at the SCG, Milera was asked on ABC radio if it was discussed by Adelaide that Sydney looked “rattled” early on.

“You could sort of feel it as a group, we were all over them in the first half. They were sort of a bit of a rabble, just hearing them on the ground,” Milera said.

On Sunday the Crows reached out to the Swans and apologised, saying it was not a true reflection of the club’s view of Sydney and that it was not meant by Milera.

The Swans have accepted the apology.

The Crows were dominant over a woeful Sydney outfit on Saturday night, with Swans coach Dean Cox describing his side’s performance as “unacceptable and embarrassing” especially with it being the club’s 20-year premiership reunion.

When asked about Milera’s assessment, Cox said;

“Obviously you want to try and be, as a football club, you want to make sure you’re as consistent, connected and compete together,” he said.

“So, what we need to make sure is that if we are doing that, we need to focus on what we can control.

Wayne Milera celebrates a goal with teammates against the Swans.

“And I think, at times, players do get frustrated, but if it is coming in way too much, so we need to make sure that we speak about that — whether it’s individually or as a team, we will, and then drill into a little bit more for the specifics of who and when and why.”

Three-time Richmond premiership player Jack Riewoldt criticised Milera’s comments.

“One hundred per cent that’s disrespectful, calling an opposition team ‘a bit of a rabble’ in a media sense,” Riewoldt said on Fox Footy.

“We’ve just come off the conversation with Matthew Nicks about they dropped Josh Rachele for ‘values’. I’d love to know where a comment like that sits in the values of the Adelaide Football Club.”

Two-time North Melbourne flag winner David King disagreed with Riewoldt, saying he believed Milera wasn’t meaning any disrespect.

“He’s a guy that doesn’t have a history in this space. I can’t remember hearing him speak. I can’t remember hearing an interview from Wayne,” King said.

“I’d love to know what he was trying to say, whether he got his words wrong … I think it’s something you can fix with a phone call.

“I’d be surprised if Matty Nicks didn’t get on the phone and say ‘look, we were out of line here, we made a mistake, can we step through this and move on?’

“It’s just a simple error. I think he’s got his words wrong, and I hope this doesn’t become the story that maybe you think it will.”

Originally published as AFL round 12: Crows star Wayne Milera calls Sydney “rabble” after 90-point demolition