Adelaide Crows
|
|
Adelaide_Crows_logo.gif
The Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League, based in Adelaide, South Australia.
| Contents |
Club history
The South Australian National Football League, who ran the local competition, had been seeking to enter a team in what was then the Victorian Football League since 1981. Protracted negotiations were brought to a head in 1991 after the SANFL powerhouse, the Port Adelaide Football Club, reached agreement with the AFL to enter their competition. Legal action followed, and eventually the league agreed to enter the composite Adelaide team in 1991.
The Crows did not take long to achieve success, winning back-to-back premierships in 1997 and 1998 under coach Malcolm Blight.
Their fan base has quickly developed a distinct character of its own, caricatured as chardonnay-sipping yuppies contrasting with the working class Port Adelaide Power which did eventually enter the AFL competition in 1997. Rivalry between the players and supporters of the two Adelaide teams is fierce, with an edge not present in the West Coast Eagles - Fremantle Dockers situation in Perth. On one occasion, a meeting between players of the two teams in an Adelaide bar resulted in a widely-reported brawl. Many Crows fans resent the dominance that Port Adelaide achieved in the SANFL, and, until the Power won their first AFL title in 2004, greatly enjoyed the fact that their AFL team had tasted the ultimate success whilst the Power had not.
The club is based at AAMI Stadium in West Lakes and the club song is "The Pride of South Australia", which is based on the tune of the United States Marine Corps Hymn. Famous players include Mark Ricciuto, Andrew and Darren Jarman, Andrew McLeod and Tony Modra. The club is currently coached by Neil Craig, who replaced Gary Ayres when he resigned mid-season in 2004. Craig, initally a caretaker coach, was subsequently appointed to the position permanently from 2005 onwards.
Awards
Premierships
Adelaide won premierships two years in a row.
Brownlow Medal winners
- Mark Ricciuto, 2003 (co-winner)
Norm Smith Medal winners
"Team of the Decade"
While some sides named their "Team of the Century" to co-incide with the AFL centenary celebrations in 1996, Adelaide only joined the league in 1991, and so later on named their "Team of the Decade", covering the period from 1991 to 2000.
| Backs: | Ben Hart | Rod Jameson | Mark Bickley |
| Half Backs: | Nigel Smart | Peter Caven | Mark Ricciuto |
| Centres: | Greg Anderson | Andrew Jarman | Simon Tregenza |
| Half Forwards: | Kane Johnson | Matthew Robran | Andrew McLeod |
| Forwards: | Darren Jarman | Tony Modra | Matthew Liptak |
| Followers: | Shaun Rehn | Chris McDermott (captain) | Tony McGuinness |
| Interchange: | Mark Mickan | Simon Goodwin | Rodney Maynard |
| David Pittman | |||
| Coach: | Malcolm Blight |
External links
- Official Website of the Adelaide Football Club (http://afc.com.au/)