Adelaide needs to stem tide of leavers
RETIRING Adelaide champion Scott Thompson is questioning why the Crows cannot hold players — a theme the club maintains is overstated.
“I question why we keep losing quality players regularly,” Thompson said on closing his 269-game, 13-season stay with the Crows.
“You look over our recent history — and what [players] have gone on to do at other teams.
“These are all guys we would love to have long-term in our environment. There has to be something there [as to] why players continue to leave.”
He told radio FIVEaa there was no obvious pointer to the Crows’ “problem”.
“Culturally, among the playing ranks, I feel the culture has really grown and we have a really strong bond between the playing group,” said Thompson, who intends to take up coaching, but not at the Crows.
“If the environment is as good as we think it is, players would stay. So the club has to have a look at a few things off the field, I suppose.”
Player retention is back on the agenda with the impending loss of defender Jake Lever (to Melbourne) and contracted speedster Charlie Cameron (to Brisbane Lions) in the AFL trade period that opens today.
Adelaide football chief Brett Burton says there is no reason to question the culture nor program. He describes the “gohome” pull as a “reality” all clubs need to acknowledge.
In the past 15 years, the Crows have lost Kane Johnson (Richmond), Tyson Stenglein (West Coast), Jack Gunston (Hawthorn), Ivan Maric (Richmond), Kurt Tippett (Sydney), Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong), Jarryd Lyons (Gold Coast), Nathan Bock (Gold Coast) and Phil Davis (Greater Western Sydney).