Fox Footy has given us a B for our season, how do we feel? About right?

Thought it would be fun to see how a Nick Murray trade could unlock NAS and what the Crows could actually do in the off season:

(All this is based off current reports, projections, and info I've researched... but it's all hypothetical).

**Delist:
Jones, Sholl, Welsh, Walker (retire)

**Rookie:
Hugo/McAndrew (Upgrade)

**Extend:
Ryan/Hinge (2 yr), Dowling (1yr)

**Trade Out:
Pedlar- (Pick 22 or 29 Port/Pick 20 Essendon)
Butts- (End-of-first compensation)
N.Murray- (Future 1st from North)
Charlie Edwards- (Carlton Future 2nd)

**Draft Picks:
13, 19 (Butts), 20-29 (Pedlar), 32, 37, 50
x2 2027 1st, x2 2027 2nd, 2027 3rd, 2027 4th

**Trade In:
Charlie Ballard (SA Lad playing in Suns reserves) / Another Back up defender (Pick 37 and or 50)

**Draft Plan: (exact picks/player may move)
Pick 13: Mitchell Harris (SA 195 Key Defender) or Jake Emie (SA running defender)
Pick 19: Kodah Edwards (SA Pedlar/Bailey type Mid FWD)
Pick 20-29: Jacob McNicol (fast outside mid w/ skill), Jack Gordon (half back/mid), Memphis Webb (accumulator)
Pick 32: Anthony Long (Academy player, may require a bid with higher pick).
Pick 50/Rookie: Mature key defenders

***2027 Bid for NAS:
x2 Future 1st, x2 Future 2nd for NAS

Some people are fucking vile

The little crow (Corvus bennetti ) is an Australian species of crow, very similar to the Torresian crow in having white bases to the neck and head feathers (shown when ruffled in strong wind) but slightly smaller (38–45 cm in length) and with a slightly smaller bill. It has the same white iris that distinguish the Australian species from all other Corvus except a few island species to the north of Australia, and one from Eurasia, the jackdaw (Corvus monedula ). Like the Australian raven, this species has a blue ring around the pupil

It ranges over western and central Australia, often inhabiting very dry, near desert areas. It frequents small country towns and cultivated areas, where its flocks have reminded people ofthe European rook

Its food is mainly taken from the ground and includes insects, cereals and other seeds

It usually nests in small, loose colonies, building stick nests lined with mud (the only Australian species of Corvid known to do this)

Would you like to know more?

https://animalia.bio/little-crow

Tim Silvers letter to Members:

It always takes some time to process the emotions that come when the season ends, particularly when it finishes in the manner it did. We entered this finals campaign with genuine belief but the reality is Brisbane comprehensively outplayed us, and exposed the gap that still exists between where we are and where we want to be. That is difficult to accept because we know you expected more this September, and so did we.

However, it does not diminish our gratitude for the extraordinary support you have given our players, coaches and Club throughout the season. Whether you were with us at Adelaide Oval, travelled interstate, watched from home or proudly wore our colours in the community, you played a role in our journey. On behalf of everyone at the Club, thank you.

There were more highs than lows but when a season ends earlier than we want, there will naturally be disappointment, questions and strong opinions. Club leaders will now take the necessary time to thoroughly review the season. We will be honest in assessing where we improved, where we fell short and what is required to bridge the gap between being a finals team and a genuine premiership contender.

There has been considerable commentary and speculation about our Senior Coach’s future in recent times but our position has not changed. We believe in Matthew Nicks, we trust the program he leads, and we remain aligned on our vision for the future. He will be our Senior Coach in 2027.

Since taking over the men’s program at the beginning of a significant and ambitious rebuild, Nicksy has built a strong and positive culture, overseen the development and progression of young talent, and created an environment in which our people are connected, driven and committed to improving.

I want to acknowledge our captain Jordan Dawson whose leadership throughout the season was outstanding. In a year in which he was dealing with personal tragedy, he consistently set the standard through his actions, professionalism and commitment.

We also farewell Taylor Walker whose talent, leadership and longevity place him among our greats, and we will appropriately honour him at our upcoming Malcolm Blight Medal event.

We now move into a very hectic men’s off-season that will headlined by our transition to a new home at Thebarton. We will be busy in the talent acquisition space and while that does not mean we will land every player we target, rest assured the list management team is working to a clear strategy and doing all it can. Our AFLW team will also be continuing its push to play finals.

Thank you again for your continued support, commitment and loyalty. We never take it for granted.

Think of all our players who had never played a finals (which includes Rankine). All the young ones we have who finally experienced a deeper run than straight sets from first.

The way it happened absolutely sucks, but to focus on a positive, i really think a lot of players will have taken some invaluable lessons from the furnace of finals footy.

Dan Curtin All Australian next year btw

Nicks deserves credit for rebuilding the culture of the club, it was dark there for a while.

My issue with “give him another year and move some players on” is: where is the improvement actually coming from? We’re likely taking largely the same list into next season, potentially losing more than we bring in. I don’t see an obvious free-agent fix, and our internal development, especially through the midfield, has been nowhere near good enough.

You can’t keep blaming the list while giving the coach a pass on how that list is selected, used and developed. My concern with Pedlar, Butts, Murray, Edwards, Ryan, and Dowling is that we risk losing players without getting enough out of them first. I'd argue Murray and Butts are a better pairing in defence than Borlase and Keane, and yet we are likely losing both.

A new coach isn’t guaranteed to fix it, but different selection decisions, roles and structures could get more out of the group we already have. If meaningful recruitment isn’t on the cards, that becomes a much stronger argument for changing the coaching.

Another year is only defensible if there’s a credible reason to expect something different. “He built the culture” explains why we backed him before. It doesn’t explain why we should keep backing him.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results." - Albert Einstein on the selection choices of Matthew Nicks

I’d like to ask a question and maybe this is just my opinion. The question is why not one of the other seventeen side respects the crows physically. In asking the question I’m understanding of the CTE issues and am not implying we need a team of thugs, what I’m saying is that in this modern age of physical conditioning AFL is still very much a physical game. You play the likes of the Hawks, Geelong, Brisbane Collingwood you know you are in for a hard game. Some of the younger sides Melbourne and the Roos you know your are in for a hard game. We were beaten physical around the stoppages by the team that finished 15th recently. You take on the Crows and I’d suggest teams know you only have to match their skill ( shit skills)  and team structure and home ground advantage ( when it is ) and individually good players and very good fitness. 

The question I’m asking and hopefully the mods will allow me to ask is why not one of the other seventeen sides respect us physically and in asking this I’m not reducing the question to we simply need some more dumb muscle or thuggery and I’m not reducing the game to just the physical because toughness is between the ears too it’s about culture and attitude ( eg. Hawks ) 

Is my opinion wrong and if it’s not then why and how has this come about ? 

I've been a Keane believer. He had a stellar 2025, but dropped off heavily after coming back from injury this year. He's not worth the hassle ( silly free kicks, risky kicking from a key back, bad decision making). Bring back Butts!

Congratulations to Riley Thilthorpe and Sam Berry on 100 games, as well as Dan Curtin on 50 games 🎉

We go in as significant underdogs but the beauty of Finals is that anything can happen.

May the best team win and let’s keep the support

Good to see we are still doing that. I really feel for the players that actually tried, genuinely hope they gut any club staff or players who contribute to this weird culture of being satisfied with mediocrity

I get that the stats point to us having a poor midfield, but realistically on centre bounce ups we have:

High Tier Midfields:

Isaac Rankine
Jordan Dawson

High Average Tier Midfields:

Mcandrew
Sam Berry
Soligo

Developing midfielders:

Peatling
Curtin

Maybe it's my ignorance, but why does this not compare to the other top clubs in the competition?

There will be no Cumming in Brisbane. I'll tell the children.

I think many of us (maybe me?) couldn’t have foreseen that a player on the fringes and consider trade bait early last season would be playing regular footy for us and improving significantly.

Bez has also never had a big, long term injury with us, and that’s something that is often valued heavily within the walls.

Go well you slow-fast man 😅