Crows with big issues to fix: Pyke
to be very sorely missed because he’s our leader, our captain and a great player, but I think we’ve got players in that midfield that will be able to cover him.”
Giants coach Leon Cameron is likely to recruit Ward as an unofficial member of his coaching staff. Ward has never sat in the coaches’ box before but his tactical expertise will be seen as invaluable.
“He will obviously stay tight to the group I reckon and his knowledge around footballers is exceptional as well,” said Haynes.
“He’s been a captain for eight years so we’re going to use him as much as we can and whether that’s from the coaches’ box or lifting players individually, I’m sure he’ll dabble in a lot of areas and he’ll be a massive impact for the rest of the year.” ADELAIDE coach Don Pyke admits the Crows’ AFL issues are wide-ranging after his side copped a midfield annihilation from North Melbourne.
Saturday night’s 9.17 (71) to 8.11 (59) final margin at Marvel Stadium flattered a Crows outfit that was comprehensively beaten around the ball as they slumped to their third loss from four games.
North’s inaccuracy in front of goal was all that kept alive a game defined by the Crows losing the inside-50 count 57-36.
“We’re losing contests ... we’re clearly not efficient with the ball, we’re making skill errors,” he said. “I don’t think (lack of passion) is the issue. There’s a level of effort which is there but at the moment, we’re just making too many fundamental errors.”