Paul Starick: Adelaide Crows 2018 pre-season camp saga ends – now for the future
The infamous Gold Coast camp in the wake of a grand final disaster unleashed multiple traumas on the state’s most-supported AFL club, writes Paul Starick.
SA News
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THREE sentences from South Australia’s workplace safety regulator finally have sealed the festering wound inflicted upon the Adelaide Crows by a calamitous pre-season camp almost four years ago.
The infamous Gold Coast misadventure in early 2018 unleashed multiple traumas on the state’s most-supported AFL club, both on and off the field.
Adelaide plummeted from a 2017 Grand Final loss to a 2020 wooden spoon. Whether laws were broken or not, the Gold Coast camp triggered significant unrest among key players and the club badly mishandled the fallout.
Rather than cauterise the issue through openness and transparency, the Crows ducked, dodged and desperately tried to divert attention from the gaping wounds opened by whatever happened at the camp.
We probably will never know the full, accurate story about this dark chapter in Adelaide’s history. The first three sentences from SafeWork SA’s Tuesday morning statement emphatically cleared the Crows. But most fans had moved on long ago.
The SafeWork investigation was the third review, following an internal investigation by the Crows and an AFL inquiry.
One of those at the camp told The Advertiser the SafeWork SA probe’s outcome was predictable but didn’t want to give the issue any more oxygen.
Most of the Crows players and officials have moved on since the camp – fan favourite Eddie Betts sadly among them.
A new regime is in place, spearheaded by respected federal Liberal Party president and former premier John Olsen. Promising on-field performances, guided by rookie coach Matthew Nicks, have inspired confidence in an unprecedented rebuild of playing ranks.
It is understood former Port Adelaide fitness guru Darren Burgess, who powered Melbourne to a premiership, will on Tuesday afternoon be confirmed as joining the Crows.
As Crows’ membership renewals are hitting inboxes, fans can look to the future without the baggage of the pre-season camp. That saga is finally over.
Paul Starick is an Adelaide Football Club foundation member.
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