‘Insanely crazy’: AFL journos retract Crows camp claims

Two high profile football reporters have given apologies after a legal battle surrounding one of the biggest football scandals in recent years.

Taylor Walker, Eddie Betts, Lachlan Murphy, Jake Kelly and Alex Keath of the Crows in 2019. AAP Image/Sam Wundke.

High profile football journalists Caroline Wilson and Sam McClure have made official apologies following a drawn out legal battle surrounding the Adelaide Crows’ infamous pre-season camp before the 2018 AFL campaign.

The apologies are part of a legal settlement between the Nine Network and Collective Mind – a high-performance mindset training company and the organisers behind the Gold Coast camp.

The settlement includes an agreement for the Nine Network and the reporters to pay legal costs and for a retraction to be published.

The Adelaide Crows were last year cleared of any work health and safety breaches after an independent investigation into the matter by SafeWork SA.

Caroline Wilson. AAP Image/The Age, Sebastian Costanzo.

Sam McClure.

The camp, organised just months after the club lost to Richmond in the 2017 grand final, was said to have been emotionally distressing for a number of senior players as they were sent to the bush for mind training.

The club fell into a spiral following the camp with several senior officials and players, including legend Eddie Betts, moving on.

The Crows did not play in the 2018 AFL Finals Series after making the grand final 12 months earlier.

However, reporting of the camp included serious accusations about what the players were put through.

Eddie Betts playing with the Crows in 2019. AAP Image/Sam Wundke.

Collective Mind director Amon Woulfe on Friday morning said “the rumour mill went insanely crazy” in the months that followed the camp and described the legal agreement with Nine to be vindication.

“It’s been a pretty drawn out legal process, and I’ve just been reflecting this morning, it’s been four years in two days since day camp was run, so what a saga,” he told 5AA radio in Adelaide.

“It was sort of a completely unmanageable situation for everyone involved.”

As part of the legal settlement, Nine has announced lengthy statements will be issued on Page 3 of The Sunday Age on February 6 and on Wide World of Sports website and The Age website on Monday February 7.

Since the camp, both Brett Burton and Don Pyke, the Crows’ then-head of football and head coach respectively, have moved on from the club.

Adelaide has failed to place higher than 11th on the ladder in the four seasons that have followed the camp.

The Crows also finished with the wooden spoon in 2020, and scraped to a 15th-place finish in 2021.

Statements to be printed by Nine network and Nine Newspapers

Statement 1

In July 2020, Nine published and broadcast a number of pieces reporting on the Adelaide Crows camp in 2018.

The publications made a number of statements about Amon Woulfe, Derek Leddie and Collective Mind. Nine acknowledges that Workplace SA made no findings of wrongdoing against Collective Mind. Nine acknowledges that the camp was run in good faith and with the players’ interests front of mind. If the publications were taken to suggest otherwise, Nine withdraws that suggestion.

Nine apologises and expresses regret if the publications caused hurt and offence to Mr Woulfe, Mr Leddie and Collective Mind. Nine has withdrawn these publications.

Statement 2

On 4 July 2020, an article was published in The Sunday Age and on The Age website reporting on the Adelaide Crows camp in 2018. The article made a number of statements about Amon Woulfe, Derek Leddie and Collective Mind. The Age acknowledges that Workplace SA made no findings of wrongdoing against Collective Mind. The Age acknowledges that the camp was run in good faith and with the players’ interests front of mind. If the article was read to suggest otherwise, The Age withdraws that suggestion.

The Age apologises and expresses regret if the article caused hurt and offence to Mr Woulfe, Mr Leddie and Collective Mind. The Age has withdrawn these publications.

Woulfe and Derek said they were disappointed “several high-profile individuals” had used their positions to “inflame the story” over the past four years.

“These public apologies now finally set the record straight,” they said.