Adelaide has officially re-signed coach Matthew Nicks.
After two years at the helm, the Crows have seen enough to recommit to the senior coach until the end of 2024.
Nicks’ Adelaide side has won 10 games in two years, including the wooden spoon in 2020.
Crows CEO Tim Silvers is confident they have their long-term senior coach.
“There is genuine buy-in from the players, coaches and staff to the relationships and standards that Matt is driving,” Silvers told the club’s website.
“His leadership style is exactly what we need when you consider the evolution of our playing group and he is forging a culture underpinned by people having a selfless approach.
“The connection goes well beyond the locker room and stretches to our administration, as well as our past players and officials, corporate partners, members and fans.
“There is no doubt it has been a tough initiation starting his senior coaching career at the same time as a pandemic but we have seen growth over the past two years.
“Improvement in a rebuild is not always linear and there are still challenges ahead but we remain committed to our plan and central to that is having Matt continue as Senior Coach.”
Kane Cornes, however, wonders what the rush was with re-signing Nicks, given they could have waited to see how the 2022 season developed first.
“I don’t get the advantage to signing coaches before their contract expires. You still had this year to go. I don’t get the benefit of doing it now as opposed to waiting halfway through the season,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.
“The record’s not great, we know that they’re rebuilding, and you’ve got the Alastair Clarkson situation looming, I would have liked to see how the season played out at the halfway point.
“It’s not as if another club is going to come and poach Matthew Nicks now.
“Perhaps the stability they like, they’ve had a lot of young players re-sign and I’m a fan of Matthew Nicks, I think he’s going to be a good coach, but I’d like to see that confirmed with wins and losses before you extend.
“It’s not a massive one, I don’t think it’s a huge mistake, but I would have liked them to show a bit more caution and perhaps waited until the halfway point of the year before they re-signed him.”
Adelaide will open the 2022 season hosting Fremantle at the Adelaide Oval.