Former Crow Bryce Gibbs has questioned the relevancy of Adelaide’s recently announced five-year strategic vision, suggesting a key mantle of the club’s plan can’t be reached.
Earlier this week, Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers announced the plan to the club’s annual members meeting. The key priorities to be achieved before 2027 included a fourth AFLW flag, a membership tally of 100,000, community programs accessible to 100,000 participants and relocating the club to its new home base by 2026.
But it was the detail stating the club wanted to win an AFL premiership by 2027 that caught Gibbs’ eye.
While he believes the other achievements are manageable, Gibbs said an AFL flag in the club’s immediate future is not.
The midfielder retired in 2020 after 37 games with Adelaide among 268 AFL games.
“What I’m trying to say is do these strategic plans work and are they just a bit of fluff?” he began on SEN SA’s Saturdays in SA.
He continued: “I don’t think the Crows can win a flag in the next five years. I think the Crows are more likely to not play finals for the next five years than they are to win a flag in the next five years.
“It’s not going to be popular, the Crows fans will probably come at me and think I’m still a little bit flat from my personal dealings, but that’s not the case, I’m just calling it as I see it.”
The Crows last played finals in 2017, the year they lost the Grand Final to Richmond. Matthew Nicks is yet to play finals with his squad.
“I can’t see them winning a flag in the next five years. I don’t think the list is in the right spot to launch, it still needs a lot of work and I still think their best players are their veterans,” Gibbs added.
“Tex (Taylor Walker), (Rory) Sloane will have an impact, (Brodie) Smith is towards the end, Rory Laird is getting older by the year. If you take them out of the side, they drop away pretty quickly.”
The Crows have suggested across the pre-season that they’re set to take the next step in 2023, with Matthew Nicks’ men dominating games against Fremantle and then West Coast in the past fortnight.