Adelaide’s bid to put their controversial AFL pre-season camp behind them has misfired, with media commentators saying it raises more questions than answers.
The Crows made the unusual move of holding a media briefing on Saturday, where coach Don Pyke and football boss Brett Burton announced the club had cut ties with mind training company, Collective Mind.
Adelaide started working with Collective Mind last year and the company was responsible for the Crows players adopting their so-called power stance before each game in the finals series.
But amid ongoing reports about what happened in the pre-season camp, Adelaide have cut ties with the company.
Pyke said in Saturday’s media conference that the camp “was a fail”.
The surprise announcement came only days after Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman had defended their association with Collective Mind.
And AFL media have jumped on the Saturday announcement, saying there are still plenty of unanswered questions arising from the camp.
The club has conceded elements of the camp were of particular concern to their indigenous players.
But Burton is adamant all issues – whatever they may have been – are in the past.
“We don’t need to go into all the specifics because I don’t think that’s fair … but what I will say is that there are no lingering issues from the camp,” he said.
“That is categoric – there are no lingering issues with our playing group and with our staff from that camp.
“That’s all our fans need to know … we’ve got a playing group that is happy.”
Collective Mind founder Amon Woulfe said in a statement to Channel Seven on Sunday that the ongoing issues from the pre-season camp were a major reason to end the relationship with Adelaide.
“While there have been many positives in 2018, we acknowledge and have acted upon some concerns from the pre-season camp,” he said.
“However the ongoing focus on this has been distracting for the players and was a key factor in this decision.
“To allow the players and the club as a whole to move on, we won’t be making any further comment.
“We’re very proud to work with this fantastic club and wish them all the best.”
Former Adelaide player Jake Lever, now at Melbourne, also said on Sunday that he had enjoyed working with Collective Mind.
“I thought they were fantastic in terms of some of the stuff they were able to do, in terms of focus and footballing stuff,” Lever told Channel Seven’s Game Day.
