Dangerfield walks out on Crows
UPDATED: The Adelaide Crows have confirmed midfielder Patrick Dangerfield will use his free agency rights to return to Victoria, with Geelong set to pounce with a lucrative contract.
Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan released a statement on the All-Australian’s future.
“Whilst disappointing, we understand that Patrick’s decision has been made for personal reasons,” said Fagan.
“We will now consider our options, however, our members and supporters should rest assured that in doing so we will make decisions and take action that is in the best interests of our football club.”
The Crows reluctantly farewell Dangerfield, who was last night named in the AFL’s All-Australian side and spoke briefly to the media this morning as he arrived late from the airport to the club’s end of season gathering.
“I’m here to have a good day…I will announce something later today but at the moment it’s not appropriate,” he said.
The players and coaching staff gathered at a city hotel after a year of on-field improvement marred by off-field tragedy, with the death of first-year coach Phil Walsh.
But controversy seems set to follow the Crows through the off-season, with the departure of the player widely regarded as the team’s best.
He had already notified the club of his desire to return to Victoria and play for Geelong, and the spectre of his departure hung over the event.
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“I wonder what this press conference is about,” joked fellow midfield gun Rory Sloane, who the club nominated to front the media before the gathering.
He said the players hadn’t quizzed Dangerfield about his intentions, despite persistent speculation throughout the season.
“Yeah, it’s a personal decision; we don’t all get involved in each others’ personal lives,” he said.
“Some things you like to keep to yourselves, and we respect that … we’ll just have to see how it plays out and how we handle it.”
That still remains to be seen, with Adelaide likely to exercise its rights to match Geelong’s offer for the restricted free agent, and force to Cats to the trade table.
Geelong has reportedly offered Dangerfield, 25, a six-year contract worth a little over $800,000 a season.
It will be the first time a club has sought to match a rival’s offer since free agency was controversially introduced.
Otherwise, compensation for Dangerfield would be decided by the AFL, and history suggests that would entail a first-round draft selection after Adelaide’s first pick. If all else fails, Dangerfield could nominate for the pre-season draft, and risk being selected by a glut of cellar-dwelling clubs.
The Crows’ best and fairest ceremony will be held on Saturday, ahead of the AFL’s Brownlow medal count on Monday, and Dangerfield is a favourite for the former and likely to poll well in the latter.
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Sloane said the players and coaching staff had gathered “to celebrate a hard year but also a really good year”.
“We made the finals again, and won a game in the finals as well,” he said.
“The club’s in really great shape anyway at the moment…we handled the adversity really well.”
The drama headlines a tumultuous week off the field since the Crows bowed out of the finals race with a 74-point loss to Hawthorn on Friday night, with the Western Bulldogs asking the league to investigate an allegation Adelaide was leaked information about its gameplan ahead of the previous week’s elimination final.
The allegations relate to a conversation between brothers Michael and Daniel Talia, who play for the respective clubs. But the AFL Players’ Association today hosed down the controversy, with CEO Paul Marsh saying all players and officials have been interviewed on the matter.
“From the perspective of the players, this is nothing more than two brothers having a general conversation about football as they do every other week,” Marsh said.
“The players involved have informed us that they categorically deny the sharing of any sensitive club information.”
Marsh said the association “respected the right” of the Western Bulldogs to investigate the matter “and understand that as part of this process they have felt it important to inform the AFL”.
Asked if the AFLPA’s decision meant the matter had closed for the Crows, Sloane said it “never really began for us”.
“We unfortunately caught in the crosshairs a bit,” he said.
The Crows also confirmed last night Adelaide that premiership coach John Worsfold would not succeed his good friend Walsh as senior coach, and was leaving the club.
Worsfold, who led West Coast to the 2006 premiership, stepped into the breach as Adelaide’s temporary coaching director after Walsh died.
“We knew that internally from the beginning,” said Sloane.
“John was clear with us that he was going to stick it out through the year…we were very grateful to him for coming over and helping us out through a tough time.
“We wouldn’t have made the finals without him.”
The club is expected to confirm a new senior coach within a fortnight, after interim mentor Scott Camporeale guided the team to a semi-final. West Coast assistant Don Pyke is in the mix, but his team is expected to contest next weekend’s Grand Final.
Worsfold has been approached by Essendon and will now be favourite to succeed the ousted James Hird.
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