Matthew Nicks weighs in on relentless booing of Isaac Quaynor in qualifying final

Matthew Nicks has belatedly weighed in on the jeering of Isaac Quaynor in the Crows’ qualifying final loss, imploring Adelaide fans to support their team instead of targeting the opposition.

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has belatedly weighed in on the jeering of Isaac Quaynor, saying he does not like booing and wants Crows fans to focus on supporting their team.

Nicks was criticised for not condemning match-long boos toward Collingwood defender Quaynor – the victim of a homophobic slur from Crows star Izak Rankine three weeks earlier – in his press conference after the qualifying final loss to the Magpies.

The Crows coach said last Thursday night: “It’s not one for me to comment on”.

Quaynor was the target of Crows fans last week. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Asked a week on if he would have addressed the booing if he had his time again, Nicks said: “In a post-game it’s tough because we sit in a soundproof booth, so we don’t really see too much of it.

“Looking back on it, our fans are passionate – I love our fans’ passion.

“But, personally, I’m not a fan of booing.

“I would encourage our supporters, put your energy and intensity behind us and our performance.”

The Crows mentor would not comment on whether fans should avoid jeering cheeky Hawthorn small forward Jack Ginnivan in the knockout home semi-final on Friday night.

Nicks’s take on booing came after two of Adelaide’s AFLW leaders, triple premiership captain Chelsea Randall and coach Matthew Clarke, spoke strongly on Rankine’s mistake, calling it a learning experience for him, the club and wider community.

Randall, a development coach with Adelaide’s men’s team, chatted one-on-one with Rankine before he escaped the spotlight to train in Italy days after receiving his four-game ban.

Rankine apologised to both the AFL and AFLW sides on his return to Adelaide last week.

Randall said a lesson from Rankine’s mistake was the power of language.

“It’s all of our responsibility to continue to learn and grow, and get better in that space,” Randall said.

“How awesome is footy that it is a platform that it can provide a space for people to continue to learn and grow, not be stuck in some of the old ways and just move forward together.

“When you go through something hard, whether that’s as a team, individually or as a community, sometimes you have to go through something hard to go out and be the best version of ourselves.

“When I look at things like this, you can look at and go ‘it’s disappointing’, but it’s an opportunity to go ‘we’ll build some resilience here, bring everyone together and we actually continue to keep growing and learning’.”

Clarke echoed a similar sentiment, saying as much as these instances hurt, the club and society would “come out the other side and better for it”.

“Change will happen,” Clarke said.

“I think about when I was growing up as a kid, the language that we deemed acceptable was far from acceptable.

“We just didn’t have an awareness and realisation of the impact it has.

“Now we have much better understanding, particularly in this environment.

“We should because we’re highly educated.

“If that can be the first step, then good.”

Originally published as Matthew Nicks weighs in on relentless booing of Isaac Quaynor in qualifying final