‘It had an impact:’ Why it took so long for Crows to recover from camp, grand final disaster

The Adelaide Crows will not make a decision on the position of senior coach Matthew Nicks until the back end of this season, despite faith in the coach and the culture he has built, according to the club chairman.

John Olsen, chairman of the Crows since the end of Nicks’ first season (2020), said the coaching position would be addressed near the end of the coach’s contract. Nicks is contracted for 2026, but the club would only face a limited payout if he finished this year, which is the case with many young senior coaches.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks.Credit: AFL Photos

But the Adelaide chairman, a former South Australian premier and influential figure in the state and AFL, expressed faith in Nicks and in the culture he had built in the football department, which Olsen called “outstanding.”

“We’ll address it towards his current contract conclusion,” Olsen told this masthead, in a candid interview in which he suggested that the AFL and clubs faced a tougher battle for funding from indebted state governments, while outlining the benefits of Tasmania’s proposed new stadium to that state.

“We’ve got a lot of faith in Matthew Nicks, the culture that’s at the club, the journey that we’ve been on, and we’re seeing some really, really good green shoots this year.

“So, it’s each game at a time.”

“There’s no doubt the grand final loss of ’17, and the camp, and the loss of our coach [Don Pyke] ... had an impact on the club, and it was a matter of regrouping and rebuilding.”

Crows chairman John Olsen

In effect, Nicks entered this season coaching for his career.

In confirming that the position would not be decided soon – despite the team’s impressive 3-1 start to 2025 – the Crows’ chairman said the coach’s position was not viewed in isolation of other factors.

“Yeah, and it’s not just about one, one person – it’s the coaching group, it’s the culture, it’s the playing squad. It’s what you give... what the coach has got to work with,” Olsen explained.

“There’s a whole raft of components to this, but as I said, it’s not a matter that we’re addressing at this stage.”

Olsen said the Crows had possibly “got a bit ahead of ourselves” in 2024, when they finished well outside the eight after embracing expectations following 2023 – when they missed finals on the back of a goal umpiring error (versus Sydney).

“Last year there were expectations after we didn’t make the finals on the goal umpiring error. And so we said, in ’24, we’re going to embrace the expectations – not be intimidated by it. Well, [we] got a bit ahead of ourselves, perhaps, so this year, we’re not doing that. It’s each game at a time,” said Olsen.

“I think the culture is outstanding, it’s not about the individual, it’s about the team, and we celebrate individual success as a team success and that’s the culture that’s been built in without deviation by Matthew Nicks and the coaching group. It’s really what is the foundation of the playing group at the moment.”

Olsen confirmed that Adelaide had salary cap room for pursuing players from other clubs.

“We’ve had capacity, and we’ve used that capacity wisely and been very deliberate,” he said.

Adelaide, who have a powerful attack, are keen on St Kilda’s star half-back Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, and have shown interest Collingwood’s defender and free agent Brayden Maynard, among others.

Olsen acknowledged that the 2017 grand final loss to Richmond, the subsequent ill-fated team camp in Queensland, and the exit of coach Don Pyke had all impacted on the club, along with some draft and trading calls from 2017 to 2019 which “was a miss.”

The elite kicking skills of South Australian Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera make him a weapon coming out of defence.Credit: Getty Images

“I think a club should avoid bottoming out, and rebuilds aren’t short-term. Rebuilds are a long haul. Supporter bases are impatient for success, as the board is impatient for success, like everyone associated with the club.”

Olsen said Adelaide’s top draft pick in 2020, Riley Thilthorpe, was an example of a young player who matured over that time.

“The way in which he’s matured over the last couple of years has been extraordinary – and where he’s at this year – and there was always faith he would get to where he is,” Olsen said.

But after mistakenly embracing expectations last year, the Adelaide chairman said he was taking a more conservative approach.

“Well, we exist to play finals footy – that’s our goal and our objective, and to be consistent finals [contenders].

“After my comments last year embracing expectations, I’m taking a more conservative approach to it, every game, every game at a time, and that we build towards finals and being consistently in finals... but these things are never linear.

James Peatling and Isaac Cumming have made an instant impact since switching to the Crows from the Giants.Credit: AFL Photos

“There’s no doubt the grand final loss of ’17, and the camp, and the loss of our coach [Don Pyke], a combination of things, had an impact on the club, and it was a matter of regrouping and rebuilding.”

Olsen said the addition of three recruits – James Peatling, Isaac Cumming and Alex Neal-Bullen – had made a difference to a squad that needed depth.

“We saw trade and draft bring in three players with finals experience that has made an enormous difference to our squad,” Olsen said. Peatling had chosen the Crows over “four or five, six clubs.”

Olsen said the Crows’ aspiration was for there to be “no impediment” in players coming to Adelaide, as they embarked on building a new $100 million facility west of the CBD.

“It is, in fact, a club that people will want to be part of going forward,” he said.

Olsen has been assisting the Tasmania Devils and the AFL in the drive for a contentious new stadium at Macquarie Point. He spoke to Tasmanian MPs about the economic and community benefits of the new stadium recently, and said there was a challenge for the AFL due to the debts incurred by state governments as competition for dollars became tight.

“Yes, there is [a challenge to get funding],” said Olsen. “I know that we [Adelaide Oval] received, I think it was $30 million from the federal government, and I know that there’s $240 million on offer to Tasmania – [that’s a] big difference.

“But with the state governments racking up substantial debt across the country, competition for expenditure will become tight.”

Olsen, who will host a delegation of MPs from Tasmania on May 2 and 3 in Adelaide, cited the positive economic impact on SA of the Adelaide Oval as an argument for the new stadium in Tasmania in his recent visit.

“My argument to them was, ‘Look at what Adelaide Oval has actually delivered’, and any economic analysis really needs to take into account the actual outcome at Adelaide Oval.”

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