Adelaide dealt with ‘hysteria’ over iso breach but is doing hard yards to get rescue the AFL season, says chairman Rob Chapman

This is the Adelaide Crows’ defining hour under chairman Rob Chapman, amid the COVID-19 pandemic which threatens to financially hit the club.

Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman may stay on at the club. Picture: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes.

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Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman thought he’d seen it all until football — and the world — was struck by COVID-19’s economic “disaster”.

“I don’t think anyone could be prepared for it,” Chapman told The Sunday Mail.

“Go back two months and COVID hit the whole AFL industry like a bolt of lightning. We are not special. It hit the economy hard.

“Unfortunately the fixed costs we have got mostly revolves around people. We had to stand around 80 per cent of people aside and people are taking pay cuts to get an AFL season to proceed this year.”

Chapman appreciates the irony of steering Adelaide Airport and Adelaide Football Club boards while the Crows are denied fly-in, fly-out exemptions for AFL matches.

Crows chairman Rob Chapman backs AFL response to COVID-19. Picture: Sarah Reed.

Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Fremantle and West Coast being shunted to a Gold Coast quarantine hub from Rounds 2-5 would appear to compromise competition integrity. Chapman won’t complain but notes Adelaide’s heavy lifting to jump-start the season.

“The AFL called out the Western Australian and South Australian clubs and thanked us for being accommodating,” said Chapman.

“The other clubs have acknowledged we will be doing it a little tougher up there in a quarantine. As border and quarantine restrictions ease I take it on face value AFL will try and make it up for us.”

Adelaide’s Barossa isolation breach – and savage reaction to it – was a product of pandemic times where every issue is magnified.

Adelaide was targeted for another blot on a recent record that included the Kurt Tippett salary cap affair, Gold Coast camp, player unrest and Jason Dunstall’s external review.

Adelaide can’t shy from past upheaval but angst at 16 young players botching AFL social distancing rules that weren’t required in South Australia was over the top.

“I think the police commissioner didn’t listen to all of the hysteria that surrounded that and just looked at the facts as they were found,” said Chapman with the AFL sidelining assistant coach Ben Hart for six weeks while serving one week suspended bans to 16 players.

“It was an inadvertent error. No advantage was being sought and the penalty fitted the scenario. It happened, we owned it, we all move on.”

Rob Chapman with Nigel Smart. Picture: Sarah Reed.

There may have been an issue with social distancing in the Barossa but there has been community ‘confusion’ with Premiers ignoring the advice of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his chief medical office to open borders.

Chapman, as Adelaide Airport boss, says the next challenge is to ‘open borders’ when appropriate to boost industries from sport to tourism.

“It is people’s superannuation invested in places like Adelaide Airport. It is a big responsibility, up us to get it right,” he said.

Chapman backed the AFL’s response to COVID-19 despite rugby league’s scene stealing return to action under exceptional chairman Peter V’landys. The NRL is expected to attract 300 million sports starved viewers worldwide over its return round this weekend. AFL doesn’t resume until June 11.

“Leadership is about being decisive, consultative, listening. His is certainly one model,” said Chapman of V’landys who has turned the NRL from basket case to global trailblazer in restarting competition

“I like the leadership of AFL’s Richard Goyder and Gill McLachlan. I think they have acted prudently, with haste, pulled together the presidents and CEO’s. We will formulate a plan. We were facing survival weeks ago. I am confident we will be the country’s No. 1 sport and prosper into the future.

“The immediate challenge is to get cost structures right so we can have a sustainable competition. The Global Financial Crisis was a decade ago and we reset. The next crisis is COVID and we have to remodel ourselves again.”

The Crows rate financial ‘independence’ from the AFL as sacrosanct and will pay for it through a Bendigo Bank loan.

“There is a revenue void and expenses need to be covered. We will cover that through private debt and others will tap into the AFL’s $600m line of credit,” said Chapman.

Chapman revealed to The Advertiser this week that Adelaide’s board had requested he reconsider a decision to stand down in October. Adelaide is dealing with a COVID-19 related debt that could reach $15 million depending on how many members commit to 2020-21 memberships.

“If COVID all of a sudden got nasty again instead of the direction we are going in then clearly you would reassess,” said Chapman of the trigger to extend his 13 year tenure.

Asked if Mark Ricciuto could chair Adelaide’s board Chapman says ‘yes’ but also points to board talent which includes Jim Hazel, Linda Fellows and Jim McDowell.

“In a crisis it can be full time and you need to be able to dedicate that time. It isn’t for everybody but I am confident we have the people internally who will step up at the right time,” said Chapman.

Originally published as Adelaide dealt with ‘hysteria’ over iso breach but is doing hard yards to get rescue the AFL season, says chairman Rob Chapman