Trust The Process

The Crows have said they won't move heaven and earth to get him (surely thats an ego [censored] to him?). We are saying he's got 4 more years, we don't want anything less than a great deal for us. We have also claimed (whether you believe it or not) that we expect to be playing finals next year. That is really only possible if we enhance our best 22, not diminish it. Already losing McVee to Freo (ffs, why is it only ever them?!). If we are serious about that, then the Trac deal with Adelaide won't happen, because Adelaide won't want to give up a best 22 player and players won't want to leave when they feel close to a premiership. Hence, I see an impasse here given we have demanded a player in return. The club copped a lot for long contracts to players. But now, see everyone else doing it? And it is for this exact reason: unless you allow it, you'll never get pushed off the ball during trade times. It's not playing hardball, it's just playing by the rules. The media doesn't like it because they need twists and changes to be able to write trashy articles. I'm not personally happy that he's wanting to jump (a sinking) ship despite all the demands he made at the end of last year. But, I do get it too. Just doesn't sit well with me. That is more a feeling I have with the AFL landscape generally. It's a 'I'm 100% committed...until it no longer suits me" sort of attitude. Lastly, people saying it'd be good to get his contract off the books...I don't wholly agree. We will quickly find ourselves in the Norf 'warchest' category where we have all this salary cap but noone wanting to jump ship to play for an unsuccessful club! I'm from SA, and they will treat him like a God, I can guarantee it. He'll be on every media platform here. It'll be sickening. But if he doesn't perform, they'll turn quick.

I'm no greater mind, and I'm really just hypothesising here, but I would like to think the new coach coming in would have a big say in who his assistants are. Pretty sure Roos did when he first came in, for example. In my opinion, an urgent coaching appointment/change needs to be around the fitness/strength and conditioning team. Two key - and often dismissed - ingredients to success are healthy lists and aerobically fit lists. In 2021 we ticked both boxes courtesy of Burgo (I miss that guy. And no surprises to see how well the Crows are going this year). After 2022-2023 I felt we were fit, but injured. 2024 neither boxes were ticked. And 2025 we seem to lack the fitness of other teams, but have had a good run with injuries. You can say injuries are good/bad luck, but I disagree. There's a reason Brisbane seem to always have great injury runs, and a reason why Essendon have just dumped their high performance coach. I'm certainly not saying to get rid of Selwyn, but I'd be looking to see how (if at all) we can beef up and improve that department to optimise fitness and health. I'd love to see our new senior coach prioritise this side of football.