Adelaide Crows 2017

[Booney]

Yep, congratulations!

[morell]

ADELAIDE captain Taylor Walker was reportedly “furious” in a “very aggressive” conversation with defender Jake Lever, while other senior Crows figures are declaring his desired trade to Melbourne is really about money, not being closer to friends and family.

<snip>

Jesus.

This is not good.

[morell]

I am now hearing whispers about Tom Lynch wanting a bit more sun.

Dangerous considering his complexion.

[Dutchy]

Yep agreed. The Crows can be pissed about a system that allows a 3rd year player to choose a new club, and the barrel they're held over as a result, but last I checked all 18 clubs were vulnerable to the same thing.

At the end of the day the club should be pissed with their own inability to yet again handle the situation. The rules aren't different for the Crows, all clubs face the same threat. It's the responsibility of each club to either lock down the players they want to keep, or trade them and get something worthwhile before they find themselves in a position of little to no leverage (pardon the pun).

Spot on, Crows need to look at themselves and get better at player retention, not blame the system. Many other clubs hold onto their players.

[whufc]

ADELAIDE captain Taylor Walker was reportedly “furious” in a “very aggressive” conversation with defender Jake Lever, while other senior Crows figures are declaring his desired trade to Melbourne is really about money, not being closer to friends and family.

In another extraordinary twist, Lever’s manager has claimed that his player’s relationship with some Adelaide teammates got so bitter that they did not even want him playing finals with them.

The 21-year-old Victorian told the Crows he wanted to be dealt home on Tuesday, as first reported by Foxfooty.com.au, revealing his anticipated desire to become a Demon.

But that has angered the man who will likely soon be his ex-captain, Walker, as reported by Melbourne champion Garry Lyon.

“From what I am hearing ... Tex Walker as the captain of the footy club is furious and let him (Lever) know in no uncertain manner,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.

“I’m told it was very aggressive.

“We play in this system that allows you to make decisions. You’re not bound to play forever at one team. You’ve got options and you’ve got alternatives.

“When you’re a player who has travelled from interstate to play somewhere else, then obviously at some stage the pull to come home is going to be real or otherwise. For Jake it is real.

“I’m sure the Adelaide footy club are peed off about it.”

But Walker’s relationship with Lever may not be the only one to have soured, with the defender predicted not to attend the club’s best and fairest count on Friday.

“There have been senior players at the Adelaide football club who have been unhappy about this situation for several months now,” reporter Sam McClure said.

“It’s been going on at training and it’s been going on behind the scenes. It started off as banter — it increased to more than just that. In the last 48 hours it has got to the point where the pressure valve had to be released.

“When Jake Lever picked up the phone and decided to call every player on the list to explain what his decision was, and he was seeking a request home to the Melbourne footy club and to go home to Victoria to be closer to family, there were some players that accepted his phone call and were grateful for it.

“There were others, including the captain Taylor Walker who weren’t so happy, and the phone call was very short, and his intentions were made very clear.

“The exit meeting between the head of footy Brett Burton and (coach) Don Pyke didn’t go so amicably.

“My guess is you will not see Jake Lever at the best and fairest on Friday.”

Lever’s manager Ned Guy told AFL Trade Radio on Wednesday that some of his teammates didn’t want him playing finals with them. He also said it was Melbourne or bust for Lever.

“Jake will only be playing for Melbourne next year,” Guy told SEN Breakfast. “He won’t sign off with any other deal.

“It has been in motion for a fair while now. Melbourne was pretty fond of Jake all the way through, they contemplated taking him in the draft.

“Jake had his time at Adelaide and we worked through things with them, but we couldn’t get a point where we could reach an agreement, and that probably left the door ajar and Melbourne swooped in.”

The defender looks set to move to Melbourne on a deal worth around $750,000 a season over four years.

“I’ll be going back to Melbourne to be with my family and friends. I’ve nominated the Melbourne Football Club (as my preferred new home),” he said on Tuesday night.

“They’re young, they’re exciting, especially to watch and they’ve shown great interest in me.

“For myself and my partner, just being around our family and eventually in the near future I’d think I’d like to start my own family.”

Yet Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan declared on Wednesday that any suggestion Lever was moving for personal reasons was wrong and it was motivated by money, a claim already pushed on Tuesday by Burton.

“I’m super confident it was about money. His manager and Jake himself told us that,” Fagan told SEN Breakfast.

Melbourne GM of football operations Josh Mahoney told SEN Breakfast on Wednesday what he believes to be a fair trade for the defender.

“We’d expect a first and future second round draft pick would be a reasonable offer for Jake,” Mahoney said.

“About a month ago, we knew Jake was looking to return to Victoria but it was only on Monday that we got the phone call.”

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes suggested that the Demons were unhappy with the way in which Adelaide has handled the negotiating process.

“What was put to Adelaide was a very reasonable offer from the Melbourne Footy Club in their mind,” he said on Sportsday SA.

“Just looking at the draft order now, Melbourne have pick 10. That was certainly on the table for the Crows and also their pick No. 2 in the Draft is pick No. 27. So both 10 and 27 and potentially a swap of picks involved there for Jake Lever.

“So this negotiation has been ongoing for a long time and that offer was slid across the table to the Crows official.

“He looked at it, shut his computer, didn’t say a word, got up and left the cafe. Just walked out. No dialogue whatsoever and it was quite a long walk to the exit of this cafe.

“They tried to call him back — both Lever’s manager and the Melbourne Footy Club. (He) didn’t want a bar of it and it is very, very testy between the Adelaide Footy Club and the Melbourne Footy Club.

“Some further emails were then sent the following day and clearly Melbourne were not happy with the way negotiations are going.”

Yet will welcome Bryce Gibbs with open arms.

[The Bedge]

Spot on, Crows need to look at themselves and get better at player retention, not blame the system. Many other clubs hold onto their players.

Are the Crows player retention partly a result of what's happened over the past couple seasons? Also add in the fish bowl that is Adelaide and the constant hype/pressure/focus from the media on them.

I reckon if i was an early 20's lad whose lost a coach and assistant coach in recent times, always in the papers, media throwing it back in my face and the constant resilience tag, almost playing it like a badge of honour, I think I would be pretty spent and eager to start fresh.

[Dutchy]

Spot on, Crows need to look at themselves and get better at player retention, not blame the system. Many other clubs hold onto their players.

Are the Crows player retention partly a result of what's happened over the past couple seasons? Also add in the fish bowl that is Adelaide and the constant hype/pressure/focus from the media on them.

I reckon if i was an early 20's lad whose lost a coach and assistant coach in recent times, always in the papers, media throwing it back in my face and the constant resilience tag, almost playing it like a badge of honour, I think I would be pretty spent and eager to start fresh.

That is not something that is going to change or that the Crows have any control over. There are a lot of positives of playing in that type of environment also and a club that has a lot of connections post football.

[Brodlach]

Sam McLure a poor mans Kane ‘ferret’ Cornes

[MW]

Sam McLure a poor mans Kane ‘ferret’ Cornes

jesus that is poor!

[Booney]

Sam McLure a poor mans Kane ‘ferret’ Cornes

jesus that is poor!

Not sure who it insults more.

[LMA]

I reckon a few of us mentioned before the GF that if Lever wasn't signing on then they should drop him but got scoffed at, hindsight hey?

[woodublieve12]

I reckon a few of us mentioned before the GF that if Lever wasn't signing on then they should drop him but got scoffed at, hindsight hey?

Never should have dropped him.

[amber_fluid]

ADELAIDE captain Taylor Walker was reportedly “furious” in a “very aggressive” conversation with defender Jake Lever, while other senior Crows figures are declaring his desired trade to Melbourne is really about money, not being closer to friends and family.

<snip>

Jesus.

This is not good.

Very aggressive?
Perhaps Tex could have shown some of this aggression on Saturday!

Edit- just saw woodubelieve posted the same thing 2 pages back.
I’m a bit slow today..........

[Booney]

I reckon a few of us mentioned before the GF that if Lever wasn't signing on then they should drop him but got scoffed at, hindsight hey?

Never should have dropped him.

Agreed.

[LMA]

I reckon a few of us mentioned before the GF that if Lever wasn't signing on then they should drop him but got scoffed at, hindsight hey?

Never should have dropped him.

If you don't want to be at a club that is playing in the biggest game of the year, doesn't instill much confidence in the other players.
As they say footy is played above the shoulders

[morell]

ADELAIDE captain Taylor Walker was reportedly “furious” in a “very aggressive” conversation with defender Jake Lever, while other senior Crows figures are declaring his desired trade to Melbourne is really about money, not being closer to friends and family.

<snip>

Jesus.

This is not good.

Very aggressive?
Perhaps Tex could have shown some of this aggression on Saturday!

Nah just the whole story. What a mess.

[The Bedge]

I reckon a few of us mentioned before the GF that if Lever wasn't signing on then they should drop him but got scoffed at, hindsight hey?

Never should have dropped him.

If you don't want to be at a club that is playing in the biggest game of the year, doesn't instill much confidence in the other players.
As they say footy is played above the shoulders

Waft.

NRL has players change clubs every year, sign with other clubs for the following season mid year, and there hasn't been any issues. Ben Hunt of the Broncos signed a 6yr deal with St George mid-year, was still in the Broncos starting line up right through the finals and still gave 110% and wasn't treated any different.

Cooper Cronk of the Storm just led them to a premiership, and he's expected to move to Sydney next year - he wasn't condemned, but celebrated for his career at the club.

Players change clubs, who cares, about time people stopped being so damn precious about it.

[morell]

Yeah but league is a simple game played by meat heads

[LMA]

What and Who?

[The Bedge]

Yeah but league is a simple game played by meat heads

And AFL is a game clearly played by emotional nancies.