News Adelaide Crows Camp Allegations and Rumors

[Mego Red]

I mean, I could just as easily claim its suspicious he got a lengthy lucrative contract despite many here claiming he is and was "cooked"

He was coming off an AA squad season. And he was signed until he was 30.

 

[CrowsB4hoes]

He was coming off an AA squad season. And he was signed until he was 30.

Let’s not forget this beauty either

Lynch looks at homes in Melbourne as contract talks loom with Crows

Adelaide’s quest to keep hold of dynamic forward Tom Lynch will intensify this week when the club meets his management.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Geoffa32]

Wasn't it more or less proven that any benefit gained was pretty much gone by the time the season kicked off. And do you actually get more fit training in Dubai's oppressive heat at all? You need more hydration, but are the lungs actually working any harder? I always thought they just binned it as they realised it was a waste of money.

That is the official line, and the soft cap.

Probably just a mere coincidence all the clubs going on these camps worked out the benefits gained were lost around the same time the Essendon saga took off.



Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[Sanders]

That’s more specific than reported before. It is an article clearly well informed

And frankly it sounds absolutely shithouse.

the reason this story won’t die is because it shouldn’t

 

[Mismatched]

Just curious.

Has any AFL "Journalist" done any poking around and asked why AFL clubs stopped going to camps in Dubai and Arizona after the Essendon saga blew up?

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

Effects of altitude training don't last particularly long without ongoing exposure. End of the day, they were very extravegent/expensive team bonding trips.

Once the AFL brought in the Soft Cap, clubs suddenly started being a bit more frugal and realised that "bang for buck", these camps did not add up. Could get the same "team bonding" from trips within austrlia, such as to the Gold Coast...

It’s got nothing to do with the now, lolz at the idiots who keep banging on about it like it’s relevant, I wouldn’t thought 2020 mayve weeded that sh*t out?

Its got everything to do with now, given that the 3 key powerbrokers and decision makers at the club in Chapman, Roo and Fagan. All three of whom appointed Pyke and Burton and should have been keeping tabs, allowed this camp and group to destroy our football club. They were then absolutely complicit in the denials and cover ups that followed, serving only to make an even bigger story.

There has been no accountability for those whose watch this disaster of a camp occurred under. Now that might be okay if this was the only controversy to occur under their watch, but its not! They're endless!

I think people can get caught up in detail and forget the most pertinent facts.

1. The camp was organised, unauthorised, by Burton who, aside from being an idiot, was not at the club during the Walsh tragedy and therefore had no feel for the players. He took a squad that was bound by tragedy and broke them apart.

2. The camp was run by a Company formed by an ex muso notorious for trying to find "the next money making scheme" with a program that leant heavily on a discredited and heavily criticised "mind training" program.

The fact the club decided to break open a squad who had collectively gone through so much upheaval by using such a pseudo psychological approach showed both a complete disregard for the unique set of circumstances the squad faced and a distinct lack of professional knowledge regarding sports psychology by the admin of a well resourced, professional sporting organisation.

It doesn't matter what you think of the camp, the indisputable truth is the above facts heavily contributed to blowing up a squad that had recently reached a grand final. The chasm formed between the squad and the coaches/football department as a result of this ineptitude leaves us where we are now, needing a culture leader to try and rebuild our identity. And ********s like Roo making stupid comments about past players merely underlines the fact that the cancer has not yet been cut out.

Got it in one.

Betts and Gov would spill as well I reckon. Not with the same harmful intent, but they wouldn't bother protecting the club. Sauce or JJ probably called the 'journo' to get the story up and going again. Still, I don't mind the 3 amigos getting a gentle kick in the nuts periodically by being reminded of their involvement in player blaming and complete ruination of a playing list. *******s all 3.

I think this is a key factor, I think the players who have gone to the media want those involved in bringing CM to the club and arranging the camp held accountable, at the same time though they don't want to destroy the football club.

I get the feeling initially there were attempts by the players to solve this internally, hence why it took a while for any issues to be revealed. Remember we were 6-3 after round 9 with a healthy %, despite mounting injuries, having comfortably knocked off Richmond in that time. It wasn't until the Melbourne game that the wheels really fell off, shortly after CM were rumoured to have been brought back into the club.

Basically I expect players brought up concerns to club admin about CM and the camp, there were some promises that things would change, only ultimately to have been ignored and have their concerns denied in the media.

We're never going to get the full story, in part because those who aren't happy still have a strong affinity for the footy club and blame the individuals involved. They don't want to go on record and destroy the club for the players still there, for the fans etc, but they do want to see change.

I don't think what Sam has published is close to the full story, but its as much as he can convince those involved to go public with, even "anonymously", hence he's gone to print because he's probably got enough.

Makes you wonder why the club rolled down the deny and deflect path that they did. Should have just released their own or the AFL report and it would have been done there and then. Nobody to blame but those inside the fabled 4 walls.

If you want an example of how not to handle a crisis in your organisation, here is exhibit A.

Concerns were brought up by those harmed internally in what sounds like an appropriate fashion. These concerns were not only ignored, but were denied, covered up and borderline ridiculed. We then brought out other players to say how great the camp was, only serving to fracture the playing group even more.

I'm not defending the club at all here but this is the exact point this has been released now. You know what should be in that spot, De Goey, Collingwood, Sidebottom.

Do you note that its never been the SA media (apart from perhaps Kane Cornes) who have gone hard with this story? Its because Ricciuto effectively controls the football media here in SA. They fear him and don't want to get in his bad books, he knows how to control a significant portion of the narrative here.

In Victoria we have virtually no control over the media and in fact we're quite aggressive and combative towards them. Unfortunately this just serves to piss them off and put a target on our backs.

Its similar in Victoria with Collingwood. There's few more powerful figures than Eddie McGuire in Victorian media, he would have significant clout in keeping these stories under wraps.

The other key factor is that Collingwoods issues are generally player driven. Footballers behave badly, they've done so since the dawn of time. Clubs rarely get held to to much account over such. Although the Lumumba issues are starting to blow up for them as a more club issue (having not acted to support Lumumba sooner). Even then, it was predominantly a player v player issue.

The other big issue we have, is that ours was a club sanctioned activity targeted at the players. This wasn't just a case of footballers playing badly, this was the administration of one of the biggest non-victorian clubs, which holds itself with an air of arrogance and "holier than thou" running a cult like camp leading to significant mental health issues amongst players and destroying itself in the process.

 

[Mismatched]

That’s more specific than reported before. It is an article clearly well informed

And frankly it sounds absolutely shithouse.

the reason this story won’t die is because it shouldn’t

Until those who were ultimately responsible are held to account, it simply wont go away.

 

[Pugsley]

Sammy, give up. You're still irrelevant.

 

[Jars458]

The personal abuse part is awful stupid and completely unacceptable. The talking stick stuff also extremely regrettable.

 

[thebirdman 24]

Boring

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Effects of altitude training don't last particularly long without ongoing exposure. End of the day, they were very extravegent/expensive team bonding trips.

Once the AFL brought in the Soft Cap, clubs suddenly started being a bit more frugal and realised that "bang for buck", these camps did not add up. Could get the same "team bonding" from trips within austrlia, such as to the Gold Coast...



Its got everything to do with now, given that the 3 key powerbrokers and decision makers at the club in Chapman, Roo and Fagan. All three of whom appointed Pyke and Burton and should have been keeping tabs, allowed this camp and group to destroy our football club. They were then absolutely complicit in the denials and cover ups that followed, serving only to make an even bigger story.

There has been no accountability for those whose watch this disaster of a camp occurred under. Now that might be okay if this was the only controversy to occur under their watch, but its not! They're endless!



Got it in one.



I think this is a key factor, I think the players who have gone to the media want those involved in bringing CM to the club and arranging the camp held accountable, at the same time though they don't want to destroy the football club.

I get the feeling initially there were attempts by the players to solve this internally, hence why it took a while for any issues to be revealed. Remember we were 6-3 after round 9 with a healthy %, despite mounting injuries, having comfortably knocked off Richmond in that time. It wasn't until the Melbourne game that the wheels really fell off, shortly after CM were rumoured to have been brought back into the club.

Basically I expect players brought up concerns to club admin about CM and the camp, there were some promises that things would change, only ultimately to have been ignored and have their concerns denied in the media.

We're never going to get the full story, in part because those who aren't happy still have a strong affinity for the footy club and blame the individuals involved. They don't want to go on record and destroy the club for the players still there, for the fans etc, but they do want to see change.

I don't think what Sam has published is close to the full story, but its as much as he can convince those involved to go public with, even "anonymously", hence he's gone to print because he's probably got enough.



If you want an example of how not to handle a crisis in your organisation, here is exhibit A.

Concerns were brought up by those harmed internally in what sounds like an appropriate fashion. These concerns were not only ignored, but were denied, covered up and borderline ridiculed. We then brought out other players to say how great the camp was, only serving to fracture the playing group even more.



Do you note that its never been the SA media (apart from perhaps Kane Cornes) who have gone hard with this story? Its because Ricciuto effectively controls the football media here in SA. They fear him and don't want to get in his bad books, he knows how to control a significant portion of the narrative here.

In Victoria we have virtually no control over the media and in fact we're quite aggressive and combative towards them. Unfortunately this just serves to piss them off and put a target on our backs.

Its similar in Victoria with Collingwood. There's few more powerful figures than Eddie McGuire in Victorian media, he would have significant clout in keeping these stories under wraps.

The other key factor is that Collingwoods issues are generally player driven. Footballers behave badly, they've done so since the dawn of time. Clubs rarely get held to to much account over such. Although the Lumumba issues are starting to blow up for them as a more club issue (having not acted to support Lumumba sooner). Even then, it was predominantly a player v player issue.

The other big issue we have, is that ours was a club sanctioned activity targeted at the players. This wasn't just a case of footballers playing badly, this was the administration of one of the biggest non-victorian clubs, which holds itself with an air of arrogance and "holier than thou" running a cult like camp leading to significant mental health issues amongst players and destroying itself in the process.

Oh the media in SA if you could call it that is a joke

 

[Mego Red]

That’s more specific than reported before. It is an article clearly well informed

And frankly it sounds absolutely shithouse.

the reason this story won’t die is because it shouldn’t

The camp was misguided - the players didn't need to be punished and mentally hardened, and the only folks that thought they did weren't here when Phil Walsh was murdered.

But mostly it sounds like a combination between a typical blokey pre-season camp, where "players are pushed to their limits" and something a bit sillier, with dumb dressups and music. It's only McClure's hokey over the top commentary that makes things sounds worse. The actual events seem anticlimactic compared to what was hinted at.

The only new thing in that article is Bryce Gibbs saying he'd had worse camps at Carlton.

 

[Mego Red]

The personal abuse part is awful stupid and completely unacceptable. The talking stick stuff also extremely regrettable.

Yep, attacking or insulting people to try and harden them up is old fashioned and doesn't work. That can stay in the past.

The talking stick incident was insensitive - white people shouldn't co-opt indigenous ceremonies.

Still, it seems like this has already been discussed.

 

[Mego Red]

Until those who were ultimately responsible are held to account, it simply wont go away.

Sack the premier. It goes all the way to the top. I'm sure he was the one playing the heavy metal music.

 

[Crows I Am]

Until those who were ultimately responsible are held to account, it simply wont go away.

I think Roo and Chapman are the last ones standing that would have been involved. It is becoming clearer now that Roo would have had more involvement with the camp than first thought. He would have been micro managing everything Birdbrain was doing.

 

[Mismatched]

Sack the premier. It goes all the way to the top. I'm sure he was the one playing the heavy metal music.

What a ridiculous thing to say.

 

[Mismatched]

I think Roo and Chapman are the last ones standing that would have been involved. It is becoming clearer now that Roo would have had more involvement with the camp than first thought. He would have been micro managing everything Birdbrain was doing.

CEO not involved at all?

He's either complicit or clueless as to the goings on in his football club. I'm not sure which I prefer.

 

[Crows I Am]

CEO not involved at all?

He's either complicit or clueless as to the goings on in his football club. I'm not sure which I prefer.

Yes sorry forgot to mention Fagan, he needs to move on too.

 

[Mismatched]

Yep, attacking or insulting people to try and harden them up is old fashioned and doesn't work. That can stay in the past.

The talking stick incident was insensitive - white people shouldn't co-opt indigenous ceremonies.

Still, it seems like this has already been discussed.

This went way beyond simple attacks and insults. From what's being reported and what I've learned through other avenues, they were using significant genuine past trauma's, trauma's which camp facilitators had no business even knowing about, let alone using to attack the players. At a time when we're finally recognising the massive and complicated community wide issue that is men's mental health, this is beyond inexcusable, it is a disgrace and was very dangerous from a mental health perspective.

 

[Mego Red]

I think Roo and Chapman are the last ones standing that would have been involved. It is becoming clearer now that Roo would have had more involvement with the camp than first thought. He would have been micro managing everything Birdbrain was doing.

Why do you think that? Do we have any reason to think that, other than an existing grudge against Ricciuto?

He's done enough dumb stuff, you don't need to invent things.

 

[Cap]

I mean, I could just as easily claim its suspicious he got a lengthy lucrative contract despite many here claiming he is and was "cooked"

I genuinely like that theory, kinda feels about right for the Crows contract negotiation at the time.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

The Gibbs quote came from us didn't it? During our rigorous defence

 

[Mego Red]

This went way beyond simple attacks and insults. From what's being reported and what I've learned through other avenues, they were using significant genuine past trauma's, trauma's which camp facilitators had no business even knowing about, let alone using to attack the players. At a time when we're finally recognising the massive and complicated community wide issue that is men's mental health, this is beyond inexcusable, it is a disgrace and was very dangerous from a mental health perspective.

So, all of those people outside the club that thought we should harden up and were mentally frail, are they now also claiming their own complicity in this? It was a widely held view in the media and by those who support the club.

Sorry, but we've had three years of smoke and mirrors about the camp. You saying "what I've learned through other avenues" just adds to the layer of gossip that's always surrounded this event from three years ago.

Frankly, I found it hard to read that article and not think "all of these attacks for the last three years, and over that?"

 

[kirky]

That’s more specific than reported before. It is an article clearly well informed

And frankly it sounds absolutely shithouse.

the reason this story won’t die is because it shouldn’t

Bullshit to this.

When Roo and Chapman goes, the book is closed.

You move on. Bit like a divorce, get over it and get on with your life. You want to feel sorry for yourself and navel gaze then go right ahead. But get over it. You can’t change it. The participants who instigated it will have all gone. Nothing is achieved by continuing to drag it up.

Get over it.

 

[Samcro24]

It's only McClure's hokey over the top commentary that makes things sounds worse.

Tend to agree... Given how quickly it all blew over and the fact that there was very little fallout, no changes, clearly no lingering issues between players and admin, and our stellar on field results since.

 

[feenix67]

I think Roo and Chapman are the last ones standing that would have been involved. It is becoming clearer now that Roo would have had more involvement with the camp than first thought. He would have been micro managing everything Birdbrain was doing.

I think the problem with Roo was not so much that he was involved in setting it up, but that he backed his mate Birdbrain to the hilt when the players had concerns. That's 2 for 2, after Roo had already killed a perfectly good fitness program by shifting Poulos out to make room for Burton in the first place.

Both actions told the players their opinions weren't worth a pinch of shit.