Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto declares he won’t quit board amid 2020 struggles

Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto has no interest in standing down from his role at the struggling club and is already planning the next steps in the list overhaul. Get the latest on the list plans.

Captain Mark Ricciuto celebrates after kicking goal during St Kilda v Adelaide Crows AFL game at Telstra Dome in Melbourne.

Under-pressure Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto has no intention of walking away from the club following its worst season, insisting he plans to be there for the long haul.

Ricciuto has come in for plenty of criticism this season, given the Crows’ embarrassing start to 2020 and his roles within the club and the media.

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But the premiership player and Brownlow medallist said the club always knew it was in the midst of a total rebuild, stressing the club was in for more pain next year before starting its pathway up the ladder again.

Crows football director Mark Ricciuto won’t be walking away from the club.

Ricciuto during his celebrated playing days for the Crows.

“I am not going to jump ship,” Riccuito said on Fox Footy.

“I am here to talk us through the lows, which we are in now and maybe next year as well.”

“I will go if I need to go, but this was part of the plan – the rebuilt – so we know what we need to do.”

Ricciuto said the Crows knew there was considerable pain still ahead, but believed it could start attracting talent from rival clubs from 2022 onwards.

“We will come out of that with more money in our salary cap and we can start approaching players and get extra games into these kids,” he said.

“We will come out of it just fine and we will probably look back and think ‘This was a rough couple of years for the footy club.

“We have got the right plan, we have got the right people in place. We will keep improving and we will bring new people in to better our football department.

“We have to stick together and hopefully I will be a part of it.”

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Originally published as Adelaide football director Mark Ricciuto declares he won’t quit board amid 2020 struggles