Never Mind, Crows cut ties
J. Cameron (GWS) for striking H. Andrews (Brisbane). ADELAIDE’S bid to put its controversial pre-season camp behind it has misfired, with media commentators saying it raises more questions than answers.
The Crows made the unusual move of holding a media briefing on Saturday, where coach Don Pyke and football boss Brett Burton announced the club had cut ties with mind-training company Collective Mind.
Adelaide started working with Collective Mind last year and the company was responsible for Crows players adopting their socalled ‘power stance’ before each game in the finals series.
But amid ongoing reports about what happened in the pre-season camp, Adelaide has cut ties with the company.
Pyke said in Saturday’s media conference that the camp “was a fail”. The surprise announcement came only days after Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman had defended their association with Collective Mind.
And AFL media jumped on the announcement, saying there are still plenty of unanswered questions arising from the camp.
The club has conceded elements of the camp were of particular concern to their indigenous players. But Burton is adamant all issues — whatever they may have been — are in the past.
“We don’t need to go into all the specifics because I don’t think that’s fair ... but what I will say is that there are no lingering issues from the camp,” he said.
“That is categoric — there are no lingering issues with our playing group and with our staff from that camp. That’s all our fans need to know ... we’ve got a playing group that is happy.”
Collective Mind founder Amon Woulfe said in a statement to Channel 7 yesterday that the ongoing issues from the pre-season camp were a major reason to end the relationship with Adelaide.
“While there have been many positives in 2018, we acknowledge and have acted upon some concerns from the pre-season camp,” he said. “However, the ongoing focus on this has been distracting for the players and was a key factor in this decision.”
In positive news for the Crows, much-valued linkman Tom Lynch’s impasse has a new threeyear deal with the Crows.
“I am excited to continue to call Adelaide home,” Lynch said yesterday after pushing aside lucrative offers from Victorianbased AFL clubs seeking to tempt the far-running forward with a gohome deal.