Revived Adelaide won't tempt fate

THE scent of scepticism was in the air as Brenton Sanderson delivered his first address as Crows coach.

Stephen Trigg and Brenton Sanderson

THE scent of scepticism was in the air as Brenton Sanderson delivered his first address as Crows coach.

He was promising a quick spike in fortunes for the club that had struggled so much that Neil Craig realised he had to walk out the door the previous season.

Was it spin, public relations? Did he just tell everybody what they wanted to hear in his presentations because he was desperate for the job?

It has happened before in football when coaching appointments have been made.

But Sanderson had been around. He had more experience than most men his age.

Following a playing career with Adelaide, Collingwood and Geelong, he took up assistant coaching gigs at Alberton and Geelong before returning to West Lakes.

Over the years, he built up a reputation of integrity and enthusiasm, and he was brimming with energy as he took over the Crows.

There was the change in training - he preferred a more physical style than the aerobic version Craig championed.

There was the change in mood - both the players and those in administration compared it with a pressure valve being released and said the place no longer felt like a pressure cooker.

Chief executive Steven Trigg, who alongside chairman Rob Chapman and football operations manager Phil Harper are holidaying with their families in Bali over the break, is chuffed but not stunned by the fall of events.

"In most cases when you appoint a new coach, there is a sense of everything freshening up because you have a new voice," Trigg said.

"And it creates a bit of a spike anyway. But to make as much progress as we have is a great credit to Sando and the coaching staff.

"Just the way we've gone about it, and the development of the players - we're ranking high in the contested ball and it's clear which path we've taken. There's a hunger there. We're really pleased.

"But we're not tempting the footy Gods. We're seeing across the competition how much a heavy injury count can affect a club ... you don't even want to talk about it."

But there have been discernible improvements. The most obvious one has been the midfield, which last year was led by Scott Thompson, the club's best and fairest, but he didn't have much back-up.

This season, Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane are just as damaging, having been promising but not quite there in 2012 and loving the freedom when Thompson is tagged.

Trigg, a former SANFL player and coach, has been quick to notice.

"Last year, we relied so much on one guy (in the midfield)," Trigg said. "But now there's the two you mentioned, (Bernie) Vince, (Jason) Porplyzia and (Matthew) Wright goes through there."

More importantly, the Crows are lifting off the field.

After a couple of seasons of slide, they are improving their membership numbers again.

"The response to our form has been really good," Trigg said. "We had record ticket sales against Collingwood and the interest in gold memberships has been enormous."