Departing Adelaide midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen has admitted the club’s culture has not been the same since the controversial camp following the 2017 AFL Grand Final.
The Crows have missed finals in both seasons since that infamous loss to Richmond and while plenty has been said about the camp, the ex-Crow has spoken openly about just how big the impact was.
“Just for me I think I needed to get out of (Adelaide). I have been there for a while and I just needed a new start,” he told Telstra AFL Trade Radio.
“(The culture is) not as good as it was in 2017 when obviously we were winning.
“It’s kind of faded a little bit and it is definitely not as strong and that has obviously shown in the performances that we have had the last couple of years where we haven’t made finals which was very disappointing.
“It definitely comes from multiple factors over the years. The Grand Final was a tough loss and we tried to do a few things after that with the camp and other things and obviously they did not work and it has kind of hurt the culture at the club and kind of divided us and stopped us playing good team footy that we were playing in 2017.
“Personally, I just wasn’t a fan of the way that (the camp) was run and didn’t like how it was run by the people that were involved.”
Ellis-Yolmen has joined Brisbane as a free agent and admits the move has been in the works for a while.
“I’m very happy and very relieved that I could actually tell people. It’s been a bit of a secret and I have had to keep it under wraps for a little while, but it’s a good weight off my shoulders to be able to tell people,” he said.
“It was a couple of months ago (when the deal was worked out). They were really keen to get me over and I really like Brisbane, I’ve got good mates there in Mitch Robinson and Charlie Cameron, and I was happy to go.
“I had interest from other places, but when they came and showed how keen they were, I was happy to get on board.”
Listen LIVE to Telstra AFL Trade Radio here