Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide not keen to clash in pre-season match at Football Park
YET again the AFL has proven that it is a great organisation for shooting itself in the foot. The NAB Challenge draw is another classic example.
Crows
Don't miss out on the headlines from Crows. Followed categories will be added to My News.
PORT Adelaide and the Crows will again ask the AFL to end summer Showdowns by keeping the derby exclusively for the premiership season.
The AFL has again put the SA rivals on a collision course in the NAB Challenge pre-season with a summer derby on Saturday, March 21. This is within a month of Power coach Ken Hinkley and his former assistant, new Crows mentor Phil Walsh, clashing in a true Showdown for the first time.
And the league has further tested the fans by placing the summer Showdown at Football Park — rather than a country venue. It also has frustrated the coaches by making the meaningless derby the last game in the three-match pre-season program.
This not only takes SA football fans back to a venue they no longer value, but forces Hinkley and Walsh to hold back when they would prefer to play their first-choice line-ups and test their new playbooks to the maximum.
Both the Power and Adelaide yesterday noted summer Showdowns work against the anticipation of the premiership-season derbies — more so next season when the Hinkley-Walsh rivalry begins. The lack of public support for summer Showdowns is highlighted in The Advertiser’s online survey — only seven per cent of the respondents approve a pre-season derby at Football Park.
“From a commercial point of view, a summer Showdown is not ideal,” Power general manager (marketing) Matthew Richardson said yesterday. “We’d prefer to keep the Showdowns to the home-and-away season.
“But we understand the practical realities of keeping both clubs in Adelaide on the last weekend of the pre-season.”
Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan added: “Ideally, we would like to restrict the Showdowns to premium matches in the premiership season.
“But it will be our only game in Adelaide for the summer. This is important for our members and supporters, and means we avoid another week of travel.”
The AFL will close the NAB Challenge a fortnight before the premiership season opens on April 2 with all teams in their home states. They also will play at AFL venues. Adelaide Oval is off limits with cricket commanding the venue until Friday, March 20 for the one-day World Cup.
The AFL last night said it has met the key requests of the Crows and Power by having both teams at home on the final weekend of the pre-season — and at an AFL-style venue where both coaching staffs can test their systems and routines.
The league added the game would have been played at the Oval had the venue been available.
The NAB Challenge will open for the Crows at Port Lincoln — long-standing Port Adelaide territory — by playing North Melbourne on Sunday, March 1.
The Power will start against West Coast on Sunday, March 8 at Norwood Oval — an SANFL venue once preferred by the Crows for pre-season games. The AFL says this meets Port Adelaide’s request to build its profile in the eastern suburbs.
But Power midfielder Kane Cornes last night said the AFL had missed a “perfect opportunity to get a massive crowd at Alberton Oval to see our first pre-season game.”
Port Adelaide will work off a six-day break to play Richmond in Albury for its second trial game on Saturday, March 14. Adelaide will have an 11-day preparation for its second practice match — against Geelong at Kardinia Park in a Thursday night game on March 12.
The AFL will release the premiership fixture in Melbourne tomorrow.
2015 NAB CHALLENGE FIXTURE
CROWS
Sunday, March 1 (4.10pm) — v North Melbourne (Port Lincoln)
Thursday, March 12 (6.40pm) — v Geelong (Kardinia Park)
Saturday, March 21 (3.40pm) — v Port Adelaide (Football Park)
POWER
Sunday, March 8 (4.10pm) — v West Coast (Norwood Oval)
Saturday, March 14 (4.10pm) — v Richmond (Albury)
Saturday, March 21 (3.40pm) — v Adelaide (Football Park)
All SA times
Originally published as Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide not keen to clash in pre-season match at Football Park
Several Crows still in limbo after latest re-signings
A pair of promising defenders have signed on at Adelaide, but a number of Crows remain in limbo as the club prepares for a bumper trade period.
No, thanks: Crow turns back on Collingwood trade
Collingwood came hard at Mark Keane in an attempt to get the key defender back at the club. But the Irishman isn’t going anywhere, recommitting long term at the Crows.