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Experience counts in any sport and for the Adelaide Crows, without it, they will be a new look side in 2011. A huge hill to climb will be in front of them, and it won’t be an easy task filling the gaps which have been created.
Once what was known as the “Pride of South Australia – the Mighty Adelaide Crows” could well be a club facing the lower half of the ladder for the next few seasons.
For a club that was highly regarded to make the top eight this year, they didn’t live up to expectations. Finishing 11th after reaching the semi-finals in 2009, Adelaide with a combination of injuries and poor form had a season to forget.
After the first six rounds, they didn’t have a win on the board and never looked likely to be a team contesting for a top eight position.
A win against Geelong in Round 16 opened up the chance, but the win for the Crows was helped by a mental hit to the Geelong team, as prior to the match club doctor Geoff Allen suffered a heart attack, which played with the teams mind throughout the game helping towards the Cats loss.
The game was in fact the last time Crows supporters saw Andrew McLeod and Simon Goodwin in the clubs jumper. It was also the end to their finals chances after losing a week later to Port Adelaide in the showdown by 19-points at AAMI Stadium.
Two legends left the club, and it was just the start of an exodus.
Tyson Edwards, Trent Hentschel and Brett Burton all retired, while Nathan Bock moved to the Gold Coast disappointing club CEO Steven Trigg and coach Neil Craig.
Just between McLeod, Goodwin and Edwards, the Crows lost:
* 936 AFL games of experience.
* A runner-up in the Brownlow Medal.
* Dual Premiership Players from the Crows 1997 and “98” success.
* More than a handful of All Australian selections.
* Two Norm Smith Medals by the one player and a member of the Indigenous Team of the Century.
* And a club captain.
If you add Brett Burton and Nathan Bock to the list, the story gets bigger and bigger.
Now it will be a tough quest for the Crows to get back up to the top, and while some might think their youth is the answer, they could well be, but it is more likely the club will suffer from the losses in front of them and spiral slowly down the ladder.
Three big names have retired, another who was a more than useful player when not injured; Burton was a human highlight reel as a high flier, while a further looked for the extra financial reward at the Gold Coast. Each now has left a gaping hole which needs filling.
It is an extensive list of talent lost and every club needs on field leaders with the “know how” in a difficult situation, and many of these guys had this.
Next year each won’t be there to help the team out come the first bounce of 2011.
Now it will be up to Scott Thompson, Ben Rutten, Scott Stevens and Graham Johncock to provide the on-field leadership which is needed, pivotal to youth of any team, instilling a mental hardness which will help their teammates in times of adversity.
The men leaving have been the face of the club many for more than the past decade, and a new star will have to emerge out of the shadows and make a big impact. Kurt Tippett has shown his potential, but still he has much to learn and must be more consistent.
Players like Patrick Dangerfield and Andy Otten you can trust and put your faith in, will be the future of the club you can rely upon, if injury does not create a disruption and set them back.
Richard Douglas and Scott Thompson finishing one and two in the Crows best and fairest was a good sign, two players that dominated the team’s stats books in 2010.
While on the other end, Chris Knights committing to the club for the future was welcome news for supporters, a player not swayed to move down to Melbourne or even the Gold Coast.
Jarrhan Jacky has been not offered a contract in 2011 and was the seventh confirmed Adelaide list change even before the start of AFL Grand Final week.
The Crows have gone through mass changes and it will change the whole dynamics of the side in 2011.
If the team wants to make the finals next year, they can still do it. But no doubt it will be a hard road with a greater inexperienced side and one the faithful have to expect.
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