Rumour Adelaide Crows camp

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Festerz said:
Yes. But to be fair when you have the leaders of your club, both on and off field saying nothing happened, backed by local radio, Channel 7 News and sports reporters in the main daily newspaper then maybe they were entitled to believe what BS they were being spun - that it was all a media beat up from Melbourne based journos who hate the Crows.

That's the way it rolls in Adelaide. As Gerard Whateley Healey said yesterday, the SA media, many of them signed up 'Ambassadors' of the Adelaide Football Club are happy to run a protection racket for the Crows, because. the Adelaide Crows are the biggest sporting organisation in this town and just about every major medium-small business headquartered in the state are corporate sponsors/supporters of the Crows. The Adelaide football Club is networked into every aspect of corporate and government life in SA. FFS at the time the Crows' Camp happened their board included the Deputy Commissioner of SA Police, the head of the largest banking operation, the Federal Member for Adelaide and the head of the SA Public Service.

The current Chair of the Crows is a former Premier who resigned from office because he misled Parliament on a business deal and who has not uttered one bloody word on the camp scandal since Eddie Betts made his new revelations.

Nah, I don't blame the crow supporters at all. Especially after the infamous External Review conducted in 2019 by Jason Dunstall which the then Crows CEO ensured them 'left no stone unturned' in addressing issues at the club and improving their operations.

www.afc.com.au

Football review finalised

Adelaide has completed a thorough and wide-ranging review of its football department
www.afc.com.au www.afc.com.au

And still just a few days ago after the Eddie Betts story, former Crow player, current Board Member and radio show host and Fox commentator Mark Ricciuto simply says that 'things weren't perfect and he hopes Eddie can 'get over it'.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat.
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A bloody great post. A+
 
Festerz said:
I think I covered my opinions here in an earlier post:



But on the issue of the camp let me put it this way..

The Adelaide Crows camp is the biggest off field story in the AFL right now and it has been brewing for 4 years with repeated rumours and allegations of what have happened that have all now been subsequently confirmed by participants in that camp. THIS was the story that any sporting journalist in Australia should have given their eye teeth to get a hold of.

Ask yourself why it was down to two Melbourne based journalists (Sam McClure and Caroline Wilson) to break this story wide open and pursue it relentlessly for every one of those four years rather than any journalist or media outlet in South Australia? The poor Crow fans continuously being told by the club and the local media that there was nothing to see here and ti was all a witch hunt by out of touch Victorian journos with chips on their shoulders.

Ask yourself why one of those Melbourne based journalists for the Age (Sam McClure) was awarded a Quill Award for his efforts in uncovering the camp scandal and then had that award stripped from him with NewsCorp papers (Adelaide Advertiser and the Herald Sun) being the first newspapers to break the news that it had happened? How and Why did that happen without any due process? The award was subsequently re-awarded to McClure after the Melbourne Press Club found they had broken their own bloody rules in taking it from him - but why did they do it and why so quickly?

Ask yourself why Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins went to Melbourne reporters to express their concerns about what happened at the camp instead of trusting their concerns with any Adelaide media outlet or their former friends and team-mates who dominate AFL journalism in SA?

Ask yourself why even this week Five AA Football program hosts Steven Rowe, Mark Bickley and Graham Cornes (all former Crow players/coach) are in denial about what happened at the Camp and unwilling to criticise their former team mate, friend and current Adelaide Crow Board member Mark Ricciuto for his role in the saga?

Why was it down to the victims of that disgraceful camp to have to come out publicly and release books and statements about their experience before anyone in the media in SA took the matter seriously.

I could go on but I think you get the picture.

EDIT:

To be clear, it should not be any surprise that in a relatively small state/city with just 2 AFL teams that the local sporting media should be over-represented with former players and officials from the team that has the longest history in the AFL competition. It is also no surprise that the stunning success of the Adelaide Crows in the late 1990s as Port entered the national competition would see them capture the far greater share of supporters and corporate sponsors than the newer team. This grounding has provided a base for continuing commercial success that far exceeds the other team that emerged from the SANFL competition.

But what I think Whateley is alluding to with his ' protection racket' comments (a term also used by Michael Warner in his 'Boys Club' book about the AFL) is how that success and support has somehow found its way into an unhealthy aligning of the 'Brand' of the Adelaide Crows with the commercial and business interests of the State - including media interests.

His concerns, and mine, has nothing to do with the supporters, players and most employees of the Crows who have helped make it into one of the successful clubs in the AFL and an important part of the sporting fabric of this state. But rather how those supporters, players and staff have been continually let down by those who are more interested in 'brand protection' than transparency and integrity. And given the AFL's controlling stake in the Crows (and the same with Port Adelaide) that is a blight on AFL House (and Adelaide establishment son Gillon McLachlan) as well.

Apols for the War and Peace essay. I think your question deserved a comprehensive answer.
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Another great post. Ignore the Adelaide child-minds....you’ve nailed it.
 
philthy05 said:
Lol at the media starting off every story about the camp with “you can’t penalise Adelaide cause everyone, nearly everyone that was there has left”

I’ve heard that repeated word for word a dozen times in the last two days. Obvious directive from aflHQ or what?

Why can’t you penalise Adelaide for something they did wrong?

If hypothetically Carlton cheated the cap last year, but some of the staff have left this year, does that mean they shouldn’t be punished?

The crows weren’t really punished when it first came out, why would they escape penalty now that it’s evident not only are they guilty of all the crappy camp stuff but a horrific cover up as well?
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I’m a supporter and I agree, especially with the systemic cover up that occurred. That’s a club not just individual issue. It could also be argued the club as done as much if not more damage to individual players then what Essendon did. I don’t think the situation can be resolved with out punishment. The club has to be seen to hurt.

I guess the question is what should the punishment be? Is a financial penalty enough? Draft picks? Banned from trading players in? No points next season?

Where does this rate along side the Carlton,Essendon and even Tippett deal?
 

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Jamezy88 said:
I’m a supporter and I agree, especially with the systemic cover up that occurred. That’s a club not just individual issue. It could also be argued the club as done as much if not more damage to individual players then what Essendon did. I don’t think the situation can be resolved with out punishment. The club has to be seen to hurt.

I guess the question is what should the punishment be? Is a financial penalty enough? Draft picks? Banned from trading players in? No points next season?

Where does this rate along side the Carlton,Essendon and even Tippett deal?
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Massive ban to everyone who was involved setting this up at the club. And by massive I mean years.

And yeah, this would mean people at other clubs being banned, I would have Adelaide compensate those teams for the cost and annoyance of replacing those people.

As a port fan I would love draft or trade sanctions but I don’t see the point in that.

As for deducting points, if Adelaide were a finals team it would be the thing to do, you simply can’t have them being celebrated for winning finals and maybe winning it all in the midst of this, but they’re s**t right now anyway, so it’s a bit of a non issue.

And they should be made to make a full absolute confession of everything they knew about the camp, the cover up etc. not this we’re sorry if some people hurt s**t, admittance that they organised a damaging shitshow and tried to cover it up.. even if it opens them up to litigation from Cm. And they shouldn’t be allowed to play an afl game, train, or operate as a club in anyway (effective pause on license) until they do this.

And massive financial sanctions amd the money goes towards helping the people it hurt ie counseling.

I would also favour draw sanctions over draft and trading sanctions. The crows should not get prime time slots over other clubs. They should be made to play the poor to average timeslots for the next few years.

And here’s the kicker. I would let any player at the club who doesn’t feel like they want to be there effectively tear up their contract. Caveat being that the player has to justify it to an independent counsel who tells the afl to tear up his contract. Adelaide would get compensated like free agency compo but maybe not too high a pick for a player who leaves this way. I doubt many (if anyone at all) players would take it up though, but at least the option is there if a player doesn’t feel comfortable staying.
 
I hate trade and draft based penalties. Have done for years. Punishes the fans far more than the perpetrators.

Leaders who * up this badly need to be removed from working with young, elite athletes. At least for some time. Ideally the industry would be able to self police this, but apparently it cannot.
 
YouBeauty said:
If there was a coaching license, Don Pyke would lose his you'd think. Same with all the others involved in their respective positions.
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Don Pyke has at least taken responsibility and apologised, for me the bigger question is how did those cowboys get anywhere near an elite professional sporting team with the qualifications they have and how did the AFL tick it off?
 
western royboy said:
Don Pyke has at least taken responsibility and apologised, for me the bigger question is how did those cowboys get anywhere near an elite professional sporting team with the qualifications they have and how did the AFL tick it off?
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Get the feeling Pyke only apologized mainly to try salvage his future senior coaching prospects, he should have made this statement when the revelations first came out a few years ago.

Too little, too late Donald, in my opinion.
 

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Elmer_Judd said:
Get the feeling Pyke only apologized mainly to try salvage his future senior coaching prospects, he should have made this statement when the revelations first came out a few years ago.

Too little, too late Donald, in my opinion.
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Yes, but I would guess he was bound by the same cone of silence as the rest of the crew.
 
philthy05 said:
Massive ban to everyone who was involved setting this up at the club. And by massive I mean years.

And yeah, this would mean people at other clubs being banned, I would have Adelaide compensate those teams for the cost and annoyance of replacing those people.
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Rubbish, we never got compensated for losing dean bailey to suspension for things he did at Melbourne.
The precedent has been set.
 
omnes vos lactaverunt said:
I hate trade and draft based penalties. Have done for years. Punishes the fans far more than the perpetrators.

Leaders who * up this badly need to be removed from working with young, elite athletes. At least for some time. Ideally the industry would be able to self police this, but apparently it cannot.
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Trade and draft penalties on clubs whose management, board and players blatantly cheat the draft system, salary cap or other AFL standards such as racism can be a highly effective way of ensuring changes are made to the culture and processes of offending clubs and sending a signal to other clubs of the consequences of breaking the rules.

A similar thing happens in the business world where harsh financial and trading penalties imposed by, say, the ACCC impacts the financial performance and standing of a company - directly impacting owners and shareholders resulting in corrective action. In publicly listed companies CEOs and Chairs are directly responsible to their shareholders.

BUT in the case of the Adelaide Crows the organisation which has a controlling interest in that Football Club - who is on the Board etc. - is the AFL itself. The same organisation that investigates breaches of its rules and sets penalties. The conflict of interest is bloody obvious. (btw the same applies to the Port Adelaide Football Club, Sydney Swans, GWS and Gold Coast).

Apart from 2 member elected positions (which have to be approved by the AFL in any case) the poor mug Crow supporters have no say over who is on the Board of the Footy Club they pay their hard earned money to support every week. They are alienated from any decision their club makes on anything.

Of course the AFL Integrity Commission found nothing wrong with the camp.

As Adelaide sports lawyer Greg Griffen said a couple of years ago when the camp story first broke:

'The AFL is inherently unlikely to come out and publish a report that concludes that the club's conduct has exposed it and hence the AFL to a legal liability. It was NEVER going to happen. The process was completely deficient in terms of corporate governance'.

THAT is why players taking the Adelaide Footy Club (and hence the AFL) and the camp organisers to court is the ONLY way that Crow supporters are going to see real action taking place on fixing the utter mess that happens behind closed doors at West Lakes and keeps happening.

Hit the AFL where it hurts hard - in their bottom line.
 
Last edited:
Post padding said:
Coaches can loose accreditation
Can’t coach without it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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If only this were an actual penalty. Hird is back in a coaching box (with a different title) - htf they let screwups as bad as that back in charge of young athletes bemuses me. Pyke will stay under the RADAR as an assistant, no real justice will prevail, rinse and repeat for the AFL.


Pressure rating Teyvat
 
western royboy said:
Yes, but I would guess he was bound by the same cone of silence as the rest of the crew.
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Perhaps. However the main reason Adelaide lost the grand final was down to the inflexibility of his game plan. If this had been acknowledged at the time there would have been no need for the camp - which attributed the loss to the players' lack of mental strength. By going along with the camp he clearly approved of, and presumably encouraged, this ridiculous blame shifting.
 
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