New Lion slams Crows camp

Ellis-Yolman: pre-season trip divided players

AFL: Former Crow Cam EllisYolmen has thrown a big parting shot at Adelaide, claiming the infamous Gold Coast preseason training camp ripped the heart out of the club.

Two days after signing a three-year contract with the Brisbane Lions as an unrestricted free agent, Ellis-Yolmen said the Crows playing group had been “divided’’ since last year’s January camp which had contributed to the club’s shocking fall from 2017 grand finalist to consecutive years without finals.

“It has kind of hurt the boys, the culture of the club,’’ EllisYolmen said.

“It divided us and stopped us playing good team footy that we were playing in that 2017 year when we made the grand final.

“It (the culture) is not as good as it was in 2017 when obviously we were winning.”

The emotionally distressing Gold Coast camp — which tested the players mentally (with mind training) as much as physically — left many of them shaken and angry and played a role in midfielder Curtly Hampton retiring midway through the 2018 season.

Chairman Rob Chapman has since said it had “dogged’’ the club.

“I just wasn’t a fan of the way it (the camp) was run,’’ Ellis-Yolmen told AFL Trade Radio. “I didn’t like how it was run by the people (Collective Mind) that was involved.”

Adelaide, upset by Richmond in the 2017 grand final after finishing minor premier, have fallen from grace since, winning just 50 per cent of their games (22 wins, 22 losses). Now a host of players are leaving.

Midfielder Ellis-Yolmen, 26, was the first to go and he will be joined by veteran ruckman Sam Jacobs (GWS), key defender Alex Keath (Western Bulldogs), onballer Hugh Greenwood (Gold Coast), key forward Josh Jenkins (destination unknown), star small forward Eddie Betts (Carlton) and possibly midfielder/forward Riley Knight (Sydney).

Coach Don Pyke also has left, resigning with two years left on his contract, with the fallout from the camp playing a role in his demise.

Ellis-Yolmen, who could never command a regular spot in the Crows team, playing just 39 games in eight seasons and spending the past two years on the club’s rookie list, was given an offer from the Lions that was too good to refuse.

He said he “just needed to get out of there” at Adelaide and had started talks with Brisbane months ago.

“I had interest from other places but when they came and showed how keen they were I was happy to jump aboard,” he said. “Brisbane are doing well. They seem like they have got a good culture looking in from the outside.

“I think I’d fit really well in there and I have got support there with a couple of the boys and a couple of ex-Crows people.”

Ellis-Yolmen will link up with former Adelaide teammates Charlie Cameron and Jarryd Lyons at Brisbane.