‘Stockholm Syndrome’ to shock contender: Turning point behind rise of AFL dark horse

The phones were ringing off the hook at Adelaide radio stations and the slander was as spicy as the anger was white hot among Crows fans.

Stirred on by shock jocks and stung by another season that had soured, Adelaide fans were venting their spleens with the venom of a spurned lover just 14 months ago.

The recruiting was “pathetic”. The list management had to go the way of the “Bunsen burner”. The Crows were a “boys club”. The club boss was suffering from “Stockholm syndrome”.

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Those were just the accusations from former Crow turned radio host Steven Rowe as Adelaide fans wrestled with the fact a shock loss to Richmond on home turf had ended their 2024 hopes by June.

But just a year on from a period where there were calls for Matthew Nicks to be sacked, he will lead the Crows in a blockbuster clash against Collingwood on Saturday night at Adelaide Oval.

At stake is top spot. If Adelaide ends a losing streak against the third-placed Magpies dating back to 2016, they will secure a home qualifying final. The Magpies? Having hit the skids at the wrong time, a win is vital. This is a must watch game of footy.

“Adelaide have had some big games this year,” former Crows champion Mark Ricciuto told foxsports.com.au

“They played the reigning premiers Brisbane earlier in the year. They played a Showdown not long ago, which is always huge. They played Hawthorn here on Friday night footy.

“They were all big games. But clearly Collingwood are a big footy club and with it being first v third, this was sold out two or three weeks ago. Collingwood have to win to play finals and Adelaide needs to win to secure top two. The scene is set for a belter.”

Crows flex "Premiership Favourite" tag | 08:18

Adelaide is on a seven match winning streak that has seen them progress from a fringe contender to flag favourites, with their blend of football both effective and pleasing on the eye.

Only Geelong and the Western Bulldogs have scored more heavily this season. No team has been as miserly in defence. With a fortnight to go, the Crows sit one game clear on top.

But if a week is a long time in footy, 14 months can feel like a lifetime and it is the actions of the Crows after that bitter loss to Richmond at Adelaide Oval on a Thursday night in early last June are a factor in their turn from pretender to contender.

It was at the moment when an under siege Nicks issued the following plea to fans.

“It is a tough time at the moment but stick by us,” the senior coach said.

CALMNESS AMID A CRISIS

Ricciuto quipped this week that Adelaide’s administration treated the fallout following the Richmond loss with the steadiness with which Nicks handled the ferocious first quarter approach from Hawthorn a fortnight ago, namely methodically without panic.

That fans were furious midway through last season is both an understatement and understandable given the optimism at the start of 2024 that the Crows would end a finals drought dating back to the debacle of the 2017 grand final.

They had been stiffed in 2023 by an umpiring blunder that cost them a spot in September but rather than that episode steeling their resolve, the Crows stalled and went backwards.

“At times there have been a lot of disgruntled members and supporters of the club, and I can understand that. And last year was a really tough year,” Ricciuto, who is a member of the Adelaide board, said.

“We had so many of our best players who were out for so long and for that Richmond game, I reckon there were maybe seven, eight or nine of our best players who were out that day.

“The year before we missed by a kick, by an umpiring decision, and 2024 was about trying to play finals. But we just never got on the right foot right from the start. We had a good list last year, but with all of those injuries, we ended up finishing 15th.”

Rather than hide away and lick their wounds, Adelaide management got on the front foot the following day, with chief executive Tim Silvers preaching patience as the critics breathed fire.

A former senior executive with Hawthorn appointed to the role as Adelaide boss in 2021, he told 5AA he could “feel the hurt, the anger and the disappointment” of the club’s fans.

But having been at Hawthorn as they rose from the cellar to become a power under Alastair Clarkson, he knew progress in footy is not always a case of marching straight up the ladder. For every step forward …

“I’ve been in footy for a long time and I do know that these rebuilds take time and they don’t always take the course that you want, but in my time, we have seen improvement across the years,” he said.

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“These last couple of weeks and our start to the season has been really disappointing, but it is not always linear. We had a deliberate strategy. We cut as hard as any club has in its history, I reckon, and we made some tough calls.”

Back in 2019, Adelaide instituted an extensive review by a panel featuring, among others, Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall and ex-Fremantle champion and newly-appointed Sydney chief executive Matthew Pavlich, who are both expert analysts for Fox Footy.

Former senior coach and current West Coast CEO Don Pyke had already departed. Head of football Brett Burton and senior assistant coach Scott Camporeale also made way. Taylor Walker, who helped shepherd the club after the death of Phil Walsh in 2015, stepped down as skipper. And the Crows set about revitalising their list as well.

As disappointing as the step backwards was in 2024, there was evidence that when the Crows got it right, they could match the very best in the competition.

They had been within one point at home and two points at the MCG of beating Collingwood in their premiership season in 2023.

They drew with Brisbane, which went on to win last year’s premiership, just weeks prior to the shocker against Richmond which sparked the furore.

Silvers acknowledged the need for a reset but not an overhaul.

The Crows would consider the footy department during the mid-season bye and evaluate what they needed to do to take something out of 2024 and rebound in 2025.

But he was adamant about one thing. Nicks, despite a 32-61-1 midway through his fifth season in charge, was the right man for the job.

“Not everything is rosy obviously (and) we haven’t met expectations on the field. But we still feel like in terms of overall strategy we are still on the right path,” he said.

“I believe Matthew Nicks is the right coach for the footy club. We’ve got to improve and find ways to improve.”

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 1: Matthew Nicks, Senior Coach of the Crows celebrates their win during the 2025 AFL Round 21 match between the Adelaide Crows and the Hawthorn Hawks at Adelaide Oval on August 1, 2025 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/AFL Photos via Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

THE POST RICHMOND REVIVAL

It is doubtful there was ever an appetite at Adelaide to switch horses and Crows fans are as passionate and as rusted on as any side in the competition.

But they must be glad the club stuck fat with Nicks, with Adelaide winning 16 of their 21 matches so far in 2025 while also being extremely competitive in the matches they have lost.

They have clubbed the also-rans and posted strong wins over finals contenders Gold Coast, the Giants, the Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn and the reigning premiers Brisbane.

Those losses? To Geelong by 19 points, the Dockers by three goals, the Magpies by 10 points, the Hawks by three points and the Gold Coast by one behind. This is a good team.

There were signs last season following the bye that Adelaide had rediscovered the formula that would make them a leading flag fancy with six weeks to go.

In the latter stages of the 2024 season, Adelaide defeated the Giants by 16 points, with a seven goal second term their second best for the season to that point.

They also posted wins over St Kilda, Essendon and the Bulldogs interchanged with tight losses to Brisbane and Geelong, which were arguably the best two teams last year given the thrilling preliminary final they played at the MCG.

The Showdown was a shocker, with Walker absent due to eye injury and Izak Rankine T-boned in the first term, but they were decent against runners-up Sydney in the last round.

Exactly what has changed this ear can be measured on several fronts. But the loss to Richmond and the subsequent review conducted with calmness and clarity was a turning point.

It was so low key their former skipper Walker told this reporter earlier this year he doubted it left an imprint in the minds of any of his teammates.

But as former South Australian premier and club chairman John Olsen told the Adelaide Advertiser last October, it did identify areas where improvement or resourcing was required.

Nicks, they believed, was being asked to do too much. They wanted him to focus fully on footy.

As Brisbane was celebrating its drought-breaking premiership success last year, the Crows announced experienced Lions assistant Murray Davis would fill the newly created role as director of coaching.

“We looked at the football department and how we could give additional support to the senior coach,” Olsen said.

“That’s when we identified that Murray Davis would come in to supplement, take over and therefore free up some of the roles that Matthew Nicks has been doing.

“A number of other football clubs have a not too dissimilar structure. It allows Matthew more time to make the calls he needs to be making as senior coach.”

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Adelaide was confident in the talent of emerging players including Riley Thilthorpe, Jake Soligo, Max Michalanney and Josh Rachele, along with a core of established Crows.

But it identified the need to bolster its quality across the board.

It did not land a massive name in the off-season but recruits Alex Neal-Bullen, Isaac Cumming and James Peatling have delivered and helped to fortify the Crows, as Olsen predicted in the off-season.

A premiership player with Melbourne, Neal-Bullen has played every game, Broken Hill boy Cumming has missed one and Peatling two.

“The three players from other clubs, you have the ability to plug them straight into the team,” Olsen said.

“So you introduce those players and I would expect that to make a difference next year. If you put all that together in one hit, that’s about as good a trade period as we’ve had in a long time.”

The Brownlow Medallist Ricciuto said there was never a moment where the club lost its nerve despite the pressure.

“I think the approach over the past six years has been important, all the way back to the review when the club decided to rebuild and changed coaches and switched assistants. It takes courage to do that, but the club has not wavered,” he said.

“The key decision makers knew midway through the year, that time that you are referring to, that we did have the right coach, that we did have the right list. But did we need a bit of support around the coach? Yes, we did. And we got that with Murray Davis. And did we need a bit more depth on the list? Yes we did. And we had a good off-season. We addressed it.

“Just like Matty Nicks had a steady head at quarter-time against Hawthorn (when trailing by four goals a fortnight ago), the footy club needed steady decision makers when the club was under pressure and we have had that for the last six years.”

Showdown medallists Mark Bickley and Mark Ricciuto at Adelaide Oval. Picture: Ben Clark Source: News Corp Australia

A THREE HEADED-MONSTER AND A BACKBONE OF STEEL

The Crows have kicked the third most points this season, with the triple threat of tall forwards Thilthorpe, Darcy Fogarty and the veteran Walker superb.

They have combined for 122 goals in their shared 60 games this season while also playing a key hand in another 54 goals for the Crows.

The loss of Josh Rachele has not been as costly as anticipated, with the brilliant Izak Rankine playing forward at times and adding an x-factor to the attack. And Ben Keays is enjoying a ripper in attack.

The Crows are formidable at the contest and the man, with their pressure important.

As well as conceding the least points this year, they are the best turnover team in the league and are ranked third when it comes to tackling.

Josh Worrell has been a standout, while Mark Keane continues to improve. Riley O’Brien provides support when needed.

Big blow for Crows as Laird banned | 00:34

Rory Laird, who will miss this week through suspension, is reliable and enables Wayne Milera to play with flair and creativity, while Mitch Hinge is a rebounding force.

Skipper Jordan Dawson has shone since arriving from Sydney and is ably supported by Jake Soligo, Sam Berry and Dan Curtin, among others, in the middle.

And Neal-Bullen, Peatling and Cumming “have been everything the club hoped for”, Ricciuto said, with the Crows also enjoying far better fortune on the injury front this year. Touch wood!

“One of the biggest issues the coach is now dealing with is dealing with the players who are not getting a game in the SANFL. And that is a good problem to have,” Ricciuto said.

“He has had to manage expectations and impatience and those sorts of things. And personally, I have loved the improvement of our younger players. That has been a highlight for many people internally.

“The development coaches, the assistant coaches, the strength and conditioning coaches have done a fantastic job with all the younger players who we have brought to the club through the draft and through free agency, so the growth of those players, be it Berry or Curtin, Thilthorpe or Worrell, and Nick Murray, having them fit and healthy is important.”

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 10: Josh Worrell of the Crows marks the ball against Jamie Cripps of the Eagles during the round 22 AFL match between West Coast Eagles and Adelaide Crows at Optus Stadium on August 10, 2025 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

TACKLING THE HOODOO

The main prize is not resolved until the end of September. But ending a hoodoo on Saturday night will be a step forward that would ensure at least two home finals next month as the Crows seek their first premiership since back-to-back flags in 1997 and 1998.

The pacesetter for much of the season, Collingwood has the wobbles and has slipped to third after dropping four of their past five matches. But they do have a hold on Adelaide.

The Magpies have won 35 of their 51 clashes against Adelaide, which includes the past ten dating back to a draw between the two clubs in 2017 at the MCG.

The past five matches have been nail biters that have left Crows fans gnashing their teeth, with Collingwood winning them all by a combined margin of just 22 points.

Former Sydney coach John Longmire sees some similarities in their recent dip that befell his pacesetters last year, with the Swans regaining their form late only to be pummelled in the decider.

He believes Collingwood’s trip to Adelaide could provide the spark for a rebound.

“It’s hard for guys to keep that momentum up and keep that form up for a long period of time, particularly (when you are) three games clear for a long time,” Longmire said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 this week.

“The competition is really not designed for that. So you’re going to go into patches where you just dip a little bit.

“I think it’s a great thing that Collingwood actually goes to Adelaide this week. I think that’s a really good moment for them to be able to try and break the ice a little bit in regards to how they’re playing. I think that’s a really important thing, to be able to embrace that, wrap your arms around the pressure that that provides and hopefully come out the other end with a win for them.”

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Collingwood was smashed by Hawthorn by 64 points last week and will lose key defender Jeremy Howe against the potent Adelaide attack.

But they regained Beau McCreery and coach Craig McRae said he believes the club has identified the reason for the recent slide in form, though he did “not want to give too much away”.

“We’ve had the chance to go back and look at a couple of things that we’re not connecting, whether it is ball movement or system, and drill down on that,” he said.

Ex-West Coast coach Adam Simpson believes the Magpies can be exploited by teams that are adventurous and take off at every opportunity and urged Adelaide to be bold.

But as Ricciuto said, he “would never underestimate Collingwood”. It shapes, as the Fox Footy favourite declared, as an “absolute belter”.

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