Adelaide’s list management committee has been called into question by Kane Cornes.
The Crows have lost the opening two games of the 2022 season, going down narrowly to Fremantle at home by a point in Round 1 before they were comfortably beaten by Collingwood by 42 points at the MCG in Round 2.
While the effort is there for the most part, Cornes is unsure if Matthew Nicks’ side has the quality of youth required for a successful rebuild.
The Crows have a number of first and second round draft picks on their list, including Chayce Jones, Fischer McAsey, Ned McHenry and Harry Schoenberg, among others, but Cornes is yet to see if they will be the group to help reinvigorate the club.
“Rebuilding is great if you pick the right players,” Cornes said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“Is Chayce Jones going to be a good player? Don’t know. Is Ned McHenry going to be a good player? Don’t know. Is McAsey going to be a good player? I don’t know.
“Is Schoenberg going to be a good player? I don’t know. He was pretty ordinary on the weekend, he fumbles a lot and his ball use isn’t great.
“Whilst the idea of rebuilding and getting a lot of draft picks is good, you’ve got make sure your list management committee know what they’re doing and they’re picking the right players.
“It’s not effort at all, they have a crack the Crows and they put their heart and soul into it. It’s just are they good enough and do they have enough talent?
“That’s no criticism of Matthew Nicks, if there’s any criticism there it’s levelled at the list management committee who have had a lot of draft picks.
“I’m questioning if they’ve picked the right players.”
Ahead of this weekend’s Showdown with Port Adelaide, the Crows will be eager to get their forward line in order after kicking just eight goals against Collingwood.
Cornes went through Adelaide’s attacking stocks, again wondering why Riley Thilthorpe is not in the team.
The omission of the 2020 no.2 draft pick was “baffling” to the Port Adelaide champion last week and again he couldn’t quite believe it when assessing the weekend’s loss.
“This isn’t a hindsight thing and a lot of Crows fans were perplexed at this. How Riley Thilthorpe wasn’t picked in this side, I was bemused by it,” he added.
“Once again, (Darcy) Fogarty hasn’t touched the footy for a while, he continues to get a game. Elliott Himmelberg is not up to AFL standard, he continues to get a game.
“You’ve got a number two pick who is the future of the football club and after one game, he goes back and he’s dropped.
“Now what? Does he come back in now?
“I can understand if Himmelberg is flying, if Fogarty is flying… you’ve got Lachie Gollant keeping Thilthorpe out of the side.
“I just don’t get it, after one game. If the other forwards are keeping him out on form, absolutely.
“But when you are the youngest team and you’re rebuilding, surely the benefit is to let Riley Thilthorpe push through. He’ll find a way.
“Get him up on the wing, get him in the ruck, get him around the footy if he’s struggling in the forward line which is a difficult position to play.”
Former captain and the club’s all-time leading goalkicker Taylor Walker is available to play in Round 4, but should he return to the side immediately?
Cornes asked of Walker: “Does he come straight back in?
“Is it an indictment on the club if they pick Taylor Walker off nothing?
“No practice game, months and months of no football, 31-year-old key forward for a rebuilding group that have had high draft picks and they’re still reliant on Taylor Walker in that forward line.
“We’ll wait and see. You wouldn’t blame Matthew Nicks if he picked him.”
The Crows clash with the Power in Showdown 51 at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night with both clubs searching for their first win of 2022.