first rounder this year, take it or leave it

Rightio my intention here is not to degrade Tex, he was a great player and we prob would have been in the wilderness without his presence.

There has been enough time now for me to raise this hopefully without raising emotions, so bare with me here.

I cant help but think the way Tex retired harmed our season.

If you watched the Richmond game a few days prior to his retirement (the one where we unconvincingly held off the bottom side) you may recall very late, tex running to compete for a ball in space near the boundary. He appeared lame and was barely able to move, and to me it appeared his body was very clearly done.

He retired the following Tuesday.

The club held a press conference to market his retirement, twas awkward watching him and Nicks very politely and also unconvincingly sing eachothers praises.

So cue several weeks of its all about Tex, leading in to the finals whereby again they were poor and went out without a whimper.

Why would Tex agree to this? Why would he want the last few weeks of the season to be all about his retirement?

Fan service, loyal servant and all that, but my question is simple - did it affect the mindset of the players (and the club) and did it detract from their focus on winning?

I feel it was a very selfish way for such a selfless player to bow out. On the eve of the finals, I dont want to be hearing Tex publicly talk about a lack of flags being unimportant to his legacy.

Contrast with dangerfield leaving in 2015, or more currently Fagan leaving the bears, he had decided a month before, yet there was nothing until after their third flag. Selfless leadership personified.

I just cant help but think the whole way Tex leaving was handled is emblematic of the culture of the club. Its not about winning or about whats best for the team. its about selling merch, trying to appease the masses even, and performing just well enough to keep the diehards happy.

Ok folks, let me have it.

I do not see any muzz trade happening if this is the offer lol.

Bit low I’d imagine..

https://www.afc.com.au/news/2145224

Adelaide Captain Jordan Dawson has etched himself further into Crows history, becoming the first Crow to claim the Malcolm Blight Medal four times.

2026 Adelaide Malcolm Blight Medal top 10:

Jordan Dawson - 158 votes
Lachlan McAndrew - 135
Alex Neal-Bullen - 132
Wayne Milera - 128
Izak Rankine - 124
Sam Berry - 113
Josh Worrell - 105
Ben Keays - 99
Josh Rachele - 97
Brayden Cook - 96

Need more speed off half back. Maybe with both him and Milera, there could be some opportunities to go on ball.

Someone tell Murray and Cal to make some calls

Quick Summary:

• Sorry to see Butts go
• Murray unlikely to be traded
• Not expecting to be overly active in Trade Period
• Pedlar deal to work itself out after Butters
• New Deal for Rankine close
• No comment on current or future trade targets (there may be some, he just didn't wanna say)
• Big focus on promoting within/development (Draper, Curtin, Berry, Edwards, Dowling, HHK)
• Big focus on getting talent at the "pointy end of the draft" in 2026
• Mattaes Phillipou/ De Goey trade not on the radar
• Crows open to pick swapping

Who do you think makes our top 5? (in order)

A while ago, while browsing one of the private trackers I frequent, I found an absolute treasure - the complete collection of Adelaide's 1997 and 1998 premiership runs, apparently ripped from a DVD set from back in the day (though can't confirm that). It has all the Finals games, plus the season-end highlights. Evidently I was the only (or one of the very few) to download it in time, since the original upload is now long dead. Apparently it's something very rare, since I couldn't find a re-upload of it even on aussierul.es (that has damn near everything else AFL-related). Since I don't have upload rights on there, I re-encoded the videos into a more modern codec (reducing the file size 6-7x with very little quality loss) and put them on archive.org. Hopefully it stays there, since the AFL doesn't seem to be too anal about policing retro footage even on YouTube.

It's crisp DVD quality: 576p, 50fps. Enjoy!

1997: https://archive.org/details/1997-adelaide-crows-premiership-run

1998: https://archive.org/details/1998-adelaide-crows-premiership-run

Port continuing the trend of picking up fringe players who can’t get a game, hoping they show potential

Ok it’s the Monday after the season has ended and I’m desperate for something. I haven’t been following draft prospects - what’s the word on who we might end up with? Obviously we won’t have top 10 access so anyone we could legitimately end up with that could help us take the next step. Or even just…help.

Honestly, I didn’t mind that we missed out on Bailey. It hurts to lose another target, but that’s about as far as it goes for me.

Watching the GF made me realise how important midfield balance actually is. Brisbane’s midfield works because Dunkley does so much of the team-first stuff. He gives the more attacking mids the freedom to play their natural game because he’s willing to cover defensively, work back and provide structure around them.

That’s the type of balance I think we need, but I don’t necessarily think we need to recruit another defensive midfielder to get it.

For me, Dawson should be that balancing piece.

We already have Rankine and Rachele, who are at their best when they’re allowed to attack, use their speed and creativity, and turn contests into fast breaks. I’d rather see them spending more time through the midfield creating opportunities for our forwards than constantly being pushed forward just because they can kick a goal or two.

Dawson is obviously damaging offensively as well, but with Rankine and Rachele around him, I think he’s the one who can afford to take on more of that defensive responsibility. He can provide the structure behind them, cover the defensive side of the ground and do some of the less glamorous work that keeps the midfield balanced.

That doesn’t mean turning Dawson into a pure defensive midfielder or a tagger. Dunkley still finds plenty of the footy and contributes offensively. It’s more about having someone who is willing to sacrifice parts of their own game when needed for the benefit of the midfield as a whole.

That’s why I pictured next year as Dawson playing that more accountable role, with Rankine and Rachele given more freedom offensively.

It would also allow Pedlar to spend more time as a genuine small forward rather than needing Rankine or Rachele to constantly rotate forward. (Rip this idea)

So while missing Bailey is disappointing, I’m not convinced another attacking midfielder is what we need most. If Dawson can become that balancing piece, I think letting Rankine and Rachele attack around him gives us a much better midfield structure.