- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
It was perhaps the most bizarre whinge by an AFL coach this season.
Despite his side flogging Brisbane at the ‘Gabba in Round 20, Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson claimed the welfare of his players had been put at risk by playing in 24C weather.
Instead of lauding his charges for their 105-point win over Brisbane which cemented them in the top eight, Sanderson chose to shift the focus to the 1:10pm start time.
“Playing a game here in the middle of August, in the middle of the day, is just baffling,” Sanderson said at the time.
“I think if you’re going to schedule games up here at this time of year, you’ve got to put them at night, otherwise you’re going to put players health and safety at risk.”
His comments were widely ridiculed, which was not surprising given pre-season matches and practice games are often played in temperatures well into the 30s.
Yet, rather than backing away from his claims or simply moving on from them, Sanderson chose to continue his moaning in the lead up to Adelaide’s pivotal clash with Richmond last round.
At a press conference the day before this match, Sanderson churlishly listed how rarely several high-profile Melbourne clubs had played day games at the Gabba over the past 20 years.
Sanderson had also put on the agenda his side’s frequent six-day breaks and whether they would be able to rebound from this latest one following the game in supposedly-searing heat at the Gabba.
All this sounded like excuses. Ready-made excuses should his side wilt on their home ground against the surging Richmond.
It surely sent a poor message to his own players – that their coach was concerned they wouldn’t be able to perform to their peak in the make-or-break clash with the Tigers.
That message would also have been received by the Richmond camp, although in a far more positive light. They would have been buoyed at the thought that their opponents were worried they may not have the legs to last the match.
It’s hard to think that the Richmond coaches and team leaders didn’t raise this point before the game. You’d also imagine it may well have been emphasised in the huddle at three-quarter time as the Tigers plotted how to hold on to their lead and earn the four points.
At such junctures, this sort of message can be just what a side needs to instill faith. Richmond must have felt confident they could over run Adelaide and, after a scare, they managed to hold strong and come out victorious.
Tigers leader Brett Deledio even made a veiled reference to Sanderson’s bleating in an interview after the match.
“I knew we had the run in our legs because they obviously came off a six-day break in the heat up in Brisbane,” Deledio said.
Upon reflection I still cannot understand what Sanderson was trying to achieve with his comments. Adelaide were entering the most important match of their season.
They are now barely hanging on to their top eight spot with Richmond, Collingwood, West Coast and Gold Coast all within reach of denying them a finals spot.
What were you thinking Brenton?