Our pre-game stare is fair, Crows insist

HOW Don Pyke and his Adelaide players stand for the national anthem in the preliminaries to tonight’s final at Adelaide Oval is filled with as much anticipation as the game.

Will the Crows stare down their Geelong rivals as they did with the Greater Western Sydney players in the AFL final at the Oval a fortnight ago?

Pyke is not declaring the “Crows stare” — which has drawn extraordinary comparisons with the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby haka — is a lock in the pre-game.

But he will quickly dismiss any question of the “Crows stare” being disrespectful to the national anthem, Advance Australia Fair.

“No, we would not disrespect the national anthem,” Pyke said yesterday. “How we stood is how we stood.”

He and his 22 Adelaide players lined up — 30m from their Giants opponents — with each Crow in the same pose. Legs were spread apart, arms were to the side and eyes were locked in a strong stare on their opponents.

And the Crows did not move until the Giants stepped away, seemingly confused, long after the national anthem had ended.

Inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes this week noted one Adelaide player pumped his fist after watching the Giants “blink” by making the first move after the “Crows stare”. The unusual routine is seen to be designed to intimidate Adelaide’s opponents.

Geelong midfielder and Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield questions how powerful the “Crows stare” can be on its second presentation when there is no surprise element to the opposition.

And Dangerfield said the presentation of the national anthem should never have any doubt cast about how the rival teams and their fans stood.

“I don’t think that part of the game is intimidating,” he said. “Good luck to the Crows if they think it is.

“I’m always one to sing the national anthem. The moment is not about footy — and I enjoy it for what it is.”