AFL 300-gamer Kane Cornes points out Crows use water bottle tactics at halftime
After nearly a year without a win, the Adelaide Crows are trying anything to turn it around, but an AFL 300-gamer has torn into a halftime strategy session.
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The Adelaide Crows will now taste a full year without a win after the 19.5 (119) to 7.8 (50) loss to the Kangaroos at Metricon Stadium but first-year coach Matthew Nicks is still trying things.
Down by 34 points at halftime, the camera made their way into the rooms with the Crows players talking tactics.
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But while the footy world has increasingly turned to technology to help clarify messaging in the rooms, Nick too a low-tech approach, using water bottles on the ground to clarify his point.
After 12 games without a win and nine straight losses to start the year, Nicks is still to coach a win as his side heads towards its worst season in history.
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“Coaching will drive you to the bottle too,” Eddie McGuire said in commentary after the vision aired.
Port Adelaide 300-gamer Kane Cornes also saw the footage, posting a clip to Twitter with the caption “Under 10’s or AFL?”
Under 10’s or AFL? #AFLNorthCrows pic.twitter.com/IIfUDqOZuE
— Kane Cornes (@kanecornes) August 1, 2020
While plenty of his followers turned on the Power great with comments like “This making you feel tough, Kano? It‘s so easy to kick someone when they’re down.” and “Kane, you’re better than this.” while others defending the practice as “good communication and good coaching”.
Cornes replied to one of the comments saying he’d “just never seen anything like it”.
Nope, just never seen anything like it. Most clubs use Ipads and vision for coaching at half time not water bottles
— Kane Cornes (@kanecornes) August 1, 2020
Unfortunately the use of the bottles didn’t improve the performance on the field as the side crashed to a 59-point loss and will now pass a year without a win.
After the club’s most recent win against St Kilda on August 3 2019, the Crows were unable to muster a goal in the first quarter.
Despite a brief resurgence late in the third quarter, North Melbourne steamed ahead in the final 16 minutes, recording the highest team score of the season to date.
Speaking to AFL Nation, St Kilda great Nick Dal Santo argued: “This is not AFL level from the Crows. their inability to stop the opposition is unbelievable.”
And worse for the Crows, it’s not like the Kangaroos were on fire, having lost six straight games before the clash.
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks felt obliged to apologise after the embarrassing defeat.
“We took a big step backwards as a group … I’m sorry to our supporters for the performance. It was nowhere near the level. We’re playing AFL football,” Nicks told reporters.
“A lot of players were off today. A lot of players struggled to get themselves into the game.”
Originally published as AFL 300-gamer Kane Cornes points out Crows use water bottle tactics at halftime