PHIL Harper was appointed from within the club to replace Reid. From a series of emails unearthed during the AFL's investigation, it appears to have become his unenviable duty to ensure Tippett received his undeclared money, while keeping Trigg in the loop.
There is an email from Harper to Blucher in early 2011, in which Harper says he has ''tipped'' the forward, Dangerfield and captain Nathan van Berlo into an endorsement deal with a construction company owned by former board member Alan Sheppard. These deals were approved by the league at the time, but Harper's use of the word ''tipped'' catches the attention of investigators. Independent agreements are supposed to be just that - not sought, facilitated or set up by clubs.
There are more emails. In one, Harper discusses with Trigg and Adelaide finance manager Grant Rutherford whether the club had room in its salary cap to cover an anticipated shortfall in Tippett's additional $200,000, expressing doubt the club could absorb it. The same concern is broached in another email, sent earlier this year to Trigg, Rutherford, list manager David Noble and general manager of finance and administration Shane Smallacombe, with Harper explaining the Crows were around $50,000 short on the $200,000 and that if they couldn't find other companies to chip in, the money would have to go into the club's salary cap. Adelaide could not afford to not pay Tippett the money, he said, because otherwise the letter might resurface, leaving the Crows facing a hefty AFL fine. The football manager finished with an instruction: ''please delete this email''.
Over time, Adelaide officials appear to have become frustrated, believing Tippett was knocking back good offers because they involved too much work, while further emails listed the companies he did reach agreements with, indicating that Blucher had been encouraged to contact them.
One was with Sheppard and another with Amcor Packaging, while resources company McMahon Services paid him between $20,000 and $30,000. The investigation also found a letter from Harper to club sponsor Balfours, instructing the bakery to divert $20,000 to $40,000 from a $140,000 sponsorship to Tippett. In return the forward became a Balfours ambassador, filming a series of advertisements while dressed in an apron and chef's hat.