Ex-Crows mentor stressed by fall from grace
ADELAIDE’S players must take some responsibility for the departure of their AFL coach Don Pyke, retiring Crows stalwart Andy Otten says.
Pyke quit last week despite being contracted for two more years, with the Crows now searching for a new mentor.
The Crows named a fourmember panel to select the next coach - the club’s football director and ex-captain Mark Ricciuto, chief executive officer Andrew Fagan, former Adelaide and Geelong player James Podsiadly and basketball great Phil Smyth.
Otten says Pyke was “stressed out” as the Crows slipped from being losing 2017 grand finalists to missing the finals in consecutive years.
Pyke broke down when telling senior players of his decision to stand down as coach.
“It was pretty sad to see Pykey call it quits, he caught a few people by surprise,’‘ Otten said yesterday.
“How deflated he kind of looked, that was pretty hard to see.
“The leaders have got to get together, the playing group also have to have a look at themselves and take some of the responsibility.
“He (Pyke) was pretty stressed out towards the end of it and the uncertainty with this review probably took its toll.”
Two separate reviews are being held into Adelaide’s fall from grace. An internal review by club staffers is being staged along with an external review by a four-member panel headed by Jason Dunstall and Matthew Pavlich.
The Dunstall-led review was expected to report its findings within a fortnight. Otten, who played 109 AFL games for the Crows from 2008, said Adelaide’s season spiralled after the mid-season bye.
At that point, the Crows were entrenched in the top eight but they lost seven of nine games to finish 11th.
“A little bit of everything,” Otten said of the reasons for the plunge. “Some of the better players down on form and younger players didn’t come on either.”