Reprimand for unfit Crows

LEADERSHIP member Daniel Talia has admitted some Crows did not return to preseason training in acceptable physical condition, prompting the players to hold a meeting to address the situation.

“We were a bit behind where we needed to be,’’ the ace key defender said after word had leaked out that some players had been spoken to about the way they presented themselves when the beaten grand finalists returned to training last month. “We’re an honest group, we know when we run certain times and we do a certain type of pre-season that it sets us up for the year.

“There’s a formula behind that and we’ve got to keep hitting those marks.

“The meetings were playerrun, not aggressive at all, just being honest with each other and letting each other know we’ve got to improve.

“That’s certainly happened the past three weeks and we’re in a really good spot now.”

The Crows yesterday finished their pre-Christmas preseason training program with a tough session in the heat at Football Park, with Talia saying all is now well.

The dual All-Australian said a combination of a shorter break after playing in the Grand Final against Richmond on September 30 and players recovering from off-season surgeries and “niggles’’ had led to the group being below their best at the start of pre-season.

The Crows’ 1-4 year players started training on November 20 while the senior players returned on December 4.

“We had two weeks less holidays and there were guys who had niggles and were coming off surgery who hadn’t run,” Talia said. “And some (young) guys really don’t know how to train yet, when you first come into the system. It takes a couple of years to learn how to really train hard and meet those targets..”

Talia said Adelaide’s senior group addressed the situation to try to avoid what happened to 2016 runner-up Sydney, which lost its first six games this year.