Scandals, a derailed rebuild and questionable drafting: Unpacking a seven-year AFL slide

The Adelaide Football Club has been in disarray since the national anthem was sung before the opening bounce of the 2017 grand final.

It was during the anthem that the Crows adopted a “power stance”. The mind games backfired badly.

The Crows will be spectators in September again this year.Credit: Getty Images/Aresna Villanueva

As minor premiers, premiership favourites and the best team that season, the Crows failed on the day that counted – they crumbled under pressure to an emerging Richmond group that exposed all of Adelaide’s vulnerabilities.

The fallout from that grand final defeat makes for a long list of the Crows repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot, starting with their infamous camp in the 2018 pre-season.

Adelaide have been in the wilderness ever since, missing finals for seven consecutive years – a record that tarnishes the image of a club that declares it is the “pride of South Australia”.

They narrowly missed the eight in 2023 – who could forget the goal umpiring fiasco that cost them a win against Sydney? That meant the Crows started this year filled with motivation and optimism. They built up expectations of a strong finals campaign, leading some pundits to believe Adelaide could push for a top-four finish.

“We want to do more than challenge the best this year. There’s an expectation on us to perform and play finals footy,” coach Matthew Nicks said during pre-season. “We want to embrace that expectation and aim for it, we don’t want to finish up in August. You get sick of watching finals footy … as do our players the longer they’re in the game. So we’ll embrace the expectation.”

To avoid the distraction of a coach falling out of contract, Adelaide’s board eagerly extended Nicks’ contract to the end of 2026, sealing terms before the home-and-away season opened.

Club chief executive Tim Silvers endorsed Nicks. “We have seen the on-field improvement and he has developed a game plan we firmly believe will stand up to the pressures of finals footy.”

There is no evidence to support how well-prepared the Crows are for September. Today, Adelaide have eight wins, three fewer than last season. The Crows are in the bottom four, again forced to be spectators in September.

Rarely has a club damaged itself in the aftermath of a grand final loss as Adelaide did from 2017. That controversial pre-season camp left a trail of shattered careers, broken relationships, a coaching change and distraught players.

“I was put into a situation that was psychologically and culturally unsafe. I’ll live with this shame for the rest of my life,” wrote former Crow Eddie Betts in his autobiography.

Coach Don Pyke stepped down in 2019, paving the way for Nicks to start his senior coaching career with a full-scale rebuild of the playing squad.

Controversy persisted in 2021 when former captain and Adelaide’s most-influential player, Taylor Walker, was suspended for six games after making a racist comment about North Adelaide player Robbie Young during a SANFL match where Walker was a spectator.

Taylor Walker was suspended for directing a racist comment towards a player at a SANFL game.Credit: AFL Photos

Despite the best intentions with the rebuild, their five-year plan has faltered, derailed by questionable drafting and list management decisions.

In the 2018 national draft, the Crows chose wingman/half-back Chayce Jones with pick No.9, overlooking Zak Butters, who was taken at pick 12. Butters is now an All-Australian with Port Adelaide. In the same draft, the Crows used pick 16 on fringe player Ned McHenry.

The 2019 draft is worse in hindsight for Adelaide. They selected now-retired key defender Fischer McAsey at pick No.6, bypassing Fremantle stars Hayden Young (No.8) and Caleb Serong (No.9). Meanwhile, Melbourne chose small forward Kysaiah Pickett – now a premiership player – from the SANFL at pick 12 and Hawthorn snagged South Australian standout Will Day at 13.

Good draft pick-up: Riley Thilthorpe.Credit: AFL Photos

Adelaide did not miss with Riley Thilthope at pick two in 2020. Despite some injury concerns, the key forward is emerging as a genuine star. However, in the same year the Crows took Glenelg’s Luke Pedler with pick 11. He has struggled to find a regular place in Adelaide’s best 22 and this season has been derailed by injury.

In 2021, Adelaide opted for small forward Josh Rachele with their first pick at No.6.

While Silvers insists Nicks has implemented a game style capable of withstanding the pressures of September, the coach must shoulder some of the blame for the club’s continued failings.

Nicks has been out-coached too often this season. In round three, he had no answers for Geelong’s Tom Stewart, who took 10 intercept marks. The problem repeated at the other end of the ground in round 20 when Nicks misread the match-up against Jeremy Cameron, who dominated with six goals.

Too often Nicks ignores the opposition’s best midfielder. In Saturday’s Showdown, Butters collected a record 42 possessions and 10 clearances.

Crows coach Matthew Nicks.Credit: Getty Images

He was too slow to thrust Izak Rankine into the midfield and often played inside midfielders such as Sam Berry as small forwards.

His decision to play four tall forwards in the round 21 loss against Hawthorn was equally perplexing.

The goal umpiring error against Sydney last year not only cost Adelaide a finals spot, it also created a distraction from the Crows’ own failures. They trailed by 32 points at three-quarter-time in a must-win home game.

The key issues from Adelaide’s loss to Port Adelaide on Saturday similarly have been overshadowed by the sickening bump from Dan Houston on Rankine. It’s another distraction for a Crows team that, despite being nearly at full health, was dominated at the clearances by 14 and out-tackled by 17.

With a winning rate of less than 35 per cent it is doubtful Nicks would have survived if the club had not extended his contract in March.

Nicks vowed not to be a spectator again this September. He will be doing just that after the weekend. After seven seasons of mediocrity, distractions, controversy and mishaps, patience at West Lakes must be wearing thin.

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