Lost saga crow11/26/2022 ![]() ![]() ![]() Some would have given anything to erase the humiliation and guilt. ![]() Some players agreed with Pyke and Burton that the group that lost the grand final needed to build resilience. They knew they were going away for four days, but were given little information. When players gathered in the basement car park of a Broadbeach hotel in late January 2018, many were apprehensive. Ricciuto's comments sliced open old wounds, with high-profile manager Colin Young citing two reasons for client Mitch McGovern's departure: "The reasons Mitch left the Crows was because of the camp and the Adelaide football department and that's it."įrom the top of the ladder at the end of 2017 to the bottom after four rounds of 2020, players say issues from the camp eroded trust and destroyed the once-sound foundations on which the Crows were built. Football director Mark Ricciuto, a Crows great, recently launched a remarkable justification for the player exodus, claiming those who left did so mainly for money or were pushed out. Dunstall has said he found "an environment that desperately required change". Since the camp, eight players of the best 22 from 2017 have left, Pyke and Burton have departed, and an external review of the football department and its leadership, led by former Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall, led to key personnel changes. They were told in no uncertain terms they must improve. Afterwards, Adelaide's football department questioned their players' mental strength. They were one win away from a premiership - beaten on grand final day by a rampant Richmond side that ended a 37-year drought, crushing the Crows by 48 points at the MCG. Neither Adelaide nor the AFL are willing to discuss the contents of Dr Cesana's report. It was uncovered during a subsequent investigation by the AFL's integrity unit, which stated the planning of the camp lacked "due diligence". The club confirmed the report exists and that it was seen by Burton. The Sunday Age has obtained detailed and distressing accounts of events and exercises players were put through, and learned of a report written by club doctor Mark Cesana, in which he expressed grave concerns about what took place. ![]() But exactly what took place has been shrouded in secrecy until now. Interviews with six Adelaide Crows players who attended the camp suggest there are lingering issues, and that many of them are still deeply troubled by what happened. He, coach Don Pyke and senior assistant Scott Camporeale have all left the club.Īt a press conference held six months after the camp, Burton also stated: "There are no lingering issues out of the camp. In the months afterwards, Burton said he and members of the football department would "sit back and laugh" when they read some of the media reports about the camp. They weren't allowed to shower nor were they allowed to talk unless given permission.īrett Burton, then head of football and one of the main drivers of the camp, infamously said it was a program run "all across the country for school children".Įddie Betts, left, pictured during the Crows' 2017 grand final loss, found elements of the club's camp offensive. The players were blindfolded and taken on a bus to a mystery location. This is what Adelaide Crows players remember of a pre-season camp that shattered the trust between a football department and its players, and brought about the capitulation of an AFL club. Prop guns, combat knives and players tied to trees as teammates hurled personal abuse at them. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size ![]()
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