“I don’t know where they’re at”: Why Cornes has the Crows in the gun

Kane Cornes has the Adelaide Crows in the gun ahead of their final four games of the season.

The Crows have disappointed in 2024 with just seven wins from 19 matches in a season where many predicted they would play finals after last year’s near miss.

On the back of last week’s 66-point home loss to Hawthorn and ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Geelong at GMHBA Stadium, Cornes has implored Matthew Nicks and the Crows to find out a bit more about themselves as a football club.

Cornes is confused as to where the club, which he describes as too “nice”, currently sees itself considering it re-signed Nicks earlier on in the season.

“I’m just putting the whole of the Adelaide Football Club in the gun,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“I’m really interested in the way they fight out the last month of the season, but more importantly how they deal with the off-season.

“Where are you at as a footy club? Is the rebuild done? Are you still in the market for a Harrison Petty type player? Are you still in the market for Clayton Oliver?

“Or do you feel like you need to go back to the draft? Because you’ve probably butchered a few of your picks and continue the rebuild which hasn’t got to where it needs be for six years.

“The extension of Matthew Nicks, if they didn’t do that would he still be safe? I just think it’s been a far too soft football club, too nice, let’s look after Rory Sloane, let’s look after ‘Tex’ (Taylor Walker), let’s play four talls, let’s let Tom Stewart do as he pleases when you take him on in Round 2.

“I just think they’re a nice football club. They’re in the gun for the year that they’ve had, but more importantly for the next month and the off-season which is as important an off-season as any footy club.

“I don’t know where they’re at, the Crows.”

David King concurs, calling out Adelaide’s midfield for lacking the ability to truly turn a game in the absence of Izak Rankine.

He believes they have not made any “tough calls” when it comes to list management and selection.

“It’s a good call,” King added.

“It’s hard to work out what (has gone wrong). Injuries are one thing, but they haven’t made the tough calls.

“They really haven’t as a club. I think to shake the tree sometimes you just have to make a selection omission every now and then that makes players think, ‘Gee, hang on, maybe my spot is up for grabs as well’.

“I certainly think they could have looked at the mix with Walker last week. They were way too tall forward of the ball.

“They gift prime midfield roles to guys that don’t really separate games. That was my criticism at the start of the year and that rang true for the first four or five weeks. Then Rankine went in and things changed.

“But without Rankine they look pedestrian.”

Cornes continued, noting the return of veteran Matt Crouch as a key reason for being concerned with the on-ball unit.

He would love to see some change around the ball while opening up the forward line by making a strong call on the future of former club captain Taylor Walker.

“Matt Crouch is back in this weekend,” Cornes said further.

“Is he going to move the needle for them? He’s not going to.

“So you’ve got the same problem as you spoke about. You can have that again this week. You’ve got Jake Soligo, Crouch, Rory Laird, Sam Berry. What is that as a midfield?

“I don’t get it. Clearly, there are some personnel issues.

“This is where it is a problem for them because you’ve only got what you’ve got. But should Curtin be given more opportunity? Would you look at Josh Worrell on-ball? Would you look at Max Michalanney in a full-time role? King has spoken about Mitch Hinge.

“I think you’ve got to clear out the forward line for Riley Thilthorpe and Darcy Fogarty, and it would be a big call to rest Taylor Walker again. But they did it again Essendon and kicked 116 points, Fogarty looked like Wayne Carey, and then he looked hopeless last week.

“Maybe I’m drawing a long bow there because it’s just Taylor Walker, but the forward line looks more dynamic when it’s Thilthorpe and Fogarty.

“These are tests for Matthew Nicks in the last month of the year.

“They thought they were close, they’re not close, so what moves are they going to make in the off-season?”

The Crows, who enter the clash with the Cats as underdogs, could slide up to 14th on the ladder with a win.

This would be a seventh season without finals for the Crows.