Critics of AFL flag favourite Adelaide’s mid-finals Gold Coast sojourn are misguided, Crows defender Daniel Talia says.
The Crows spent three nights on the Gold Coast from Sunday after winning their way into a home preliminary final on Friday next week.
Some critics have queried the move but Talia says the camp wasn’t a holiday.
“We’re still training really hard. We haven’t been just up there getting some sun,” Talia told reporters on Thursday.
Critics were “clutching at straws” about the impact of the camp, he said.
“What happens next weekend, the camp is not going to affect that,” Talia said.
“We were well aware that (criticism) was probably going to happen when we went up there.
“But we’re not worried about what other people are saying.
“We know what works for us … we will let the talk be the talk.”
The Crows, seeking to make their first grand final since 1998, will host either Geelong or Sydney in a preliminary final.
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That final will be Adelaide’s second game in a month because of the pre-finals bye, which Talia would prefer be scrapped.
Talia will enter the preliminary final with one game in five weeks – he was rested from the last home-and-away game because of an ankle complaint.
“It’s weird saying that, one game in five weeks, it’s a bit crazy thinking about it,” he said.
“But it doesn’t feel like we have missed that much footy because we have been training so hard.”
Adelaide were planning another demanding training session on Saturday.
“We have got a really big session coming up Saturday where we’re going to do a bit of match play and … treat it almost like a game,” Talia said.
“We will just keep training hard. We’re in a really good position mentally and physically to have a crack at getting to a granny (grand final) and that is what we will focus on.”
Sammy
Guest
Agreed..rucci is a crow hater abd always has been. Mcdermott is still bitter that the club cut him loose and has never hidden his bitterness. As for the camp..all players from both AFL & SANFL teams went with all coaching staff and trainers and they worked hard by all accounts so it was no holiday. Ultimately the only thing that counts is beating either geelong or sydney next friday night and this camp has happened a long time before that so i think any which way it would have had minimal impact on the result
Basil
Guest
Love the assessment on Rucci. So true.
Rex
Guest
Most of the negativity has come from rucci (nufty) and his puppet c McDermott. Rucci is an unashamed HATER who spends his waking hours searching for any sort of dirt on the AFC - if he can't find any or when the AFC refuse to talk with him he has a big sook and just makes stuff up! No one knows whether it's a good move or not - to get the whole squad out of town for a few days and have a refresh and a reset is quite possibly a great move. Pyke has proven himself to be a very cluey bloke - I trust he knows what the group needs. Don't think for a second these blokes are on holidays - I guarantee you each and every player is 100% aware of what is ahead - and they are ready!!!