Sloane no solo Crows superstar

SCOTT Camporeale says Adelaide’s finals thumping of GWS without star midfielder Rory Sloane is proof their success is built on a team ethos rather than individuals.

While possible preliminary final opponent Geelong appears reliant on star on-ballers Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood, Crows assistant coach Camporeale declared his club had been assembled around player depth and a sharing the load mentality that stands up in September.

“That’s always been our philosophy, we’d rather have a team than one or two jets that stand out every week because that doesn’t win finals,’’ he said. “We’re about the collective, we’re not about one player and never have been, we’re not interested in that.

“We’re about weight of numbers, particularly in the midfield, where we don’t rely on one player.’’

After a season of living with the tag ‘no Sloane, no Crows’ after they struggled in the middle part of the year when their prime midfielder was tagged, Adelaide – with Sloane sidelined following an appendectomy – emphatically showed in the six-goal qualifying final win against the Giants that they have a good midfield unit.

“I’ve been really proud of them,’’ midfield coach Camporeale said.

“Everyone wrote us off when Paddy (Dangerfield) wasn’t going to be here (joining Geelong in 2016) but we found a couple of players and others went to another level. Then everyone wrote us off last year in pre-season because we didn’t get Bryce Gibbs.

“Internally we always understood the talent that we’ve got here and the need to develop those guys.

“(All-Australian) Matty Crouch was always going to go to another level and Brad (Crouch) was always going to be good once he got fit and was able to get a good run at it.

“Richard Douglas is back playing his best footy, Hugh Greenwood has come in from a different background (basketball) and has added something different.’’

Sloane will be back for the preliminary final against either Geelong or Sydney at Adelaide Oval on Friday week.