Although the eyes of AFL fans have been fixed well and truly on Adam Goodes regarding the booing controversy this week, another type of booing will be heard from parts of the crowd on Saturday.
However this time it will be directed at a very different person and for very different reasons.
Kurt Tippett controversially left the Adelaide Football club after the 2012 and left them reeling from various penalties including draft restrictions and suspensions to club personnel as a result of a suspect contract with the Crows.
Probably more painful for Adelaide was that they were under the impression that Tippett was considering a move home to Queensland. Finally, Tippett told his team that he was leaving for a pocket full of money, doing so via text message.
However, coincidently (or perhaps not!) Tippett has not yet played against the Crows.
Understandably, the short-term and long-term impacts of Tippett’s exodus left a rather sour taste in the mouth of the entire Adelaide Football Club.
If there was any doubt about how Adelaide players felt about Tippett’s defection, it was soon put to bed by then captain Nathan van Berlo. Berlo said that the way Tippett angled his own departure was a lesson to the playing group about the “ways they shouldn’t do it”.
Meanwhile, fans threw out Tippett merchandise and in one case sent Tippett a death threat.
The impact of all of this for the teams’ clash at the SCG is difficult to predict.
It could have zero effect on either team in what should be a finals-defining game, but on the flipside it could be on for young and old early with each side out to prove the mistakes of their opponent.
Based on form alone, the Adelaide Crows appear to have the upper hand. Sydney have been thoroughly beaten in their last two games, to be fair against high quality opponents.
The missing Mike Pyke may be a game-changing loss for the Swans with Sam Jacobs in great form, tapping it down to two of the best midfielders in the game in Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane.
Furthermore, Scott Thompson is getting better with age if this year is anything to go by, and will be a real threat.
However, we cannot forget that this Sydney team played in a grand final in 2014 and are a star-studded outfit desperate for a win.
Also, the Adam Goodes circumstances may well fire up the Sydney team who will want to bring home a victory for their champion.
This shapes as one of the games of the round. A win to Adelaide would seal their finals fate, while a Sydney victory would greatly aid their top four chances.
With their good recent run at the SCG, I’ll back the Crows, but nothing would surprise me in a match with so many subplots.
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