Why Cornes is "so impressed" with the Adelaide Crows

Despite the pre-season loss of Dan Curtin, former Port Adelaide assistant and SEN SA’s newest breakfast host Chad Cornes is riding high on his former rival.

20-year-old Curtin appeared in the shape of his life, eyeing off a shift into the midfield ahead of a potential breakout season. Unfortunately, that dream was cut short, as the young gun dislocated his kneecap in a wrestling incident during pre-season training.

While many – including Chad’s brother Kane - deemed the incident completely unnecessary, Chad doesn’t believe that the drill was anything out of the ordinary.

“I’m definitely not as against it as Kane!” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.

“A lot of times, you start training with some tackling drills, tackling technique, which at the end, for whatever reason, you have a bit of a wrestle - a bit of a show of strength against someone you want to beat in the team.

“It probably doesn’t need to be done, but I’m sure every club would have an element of that. After every game we lost towards the end of Choco’s career, we’d have an MMA guy come in – really good guy but that was just ridiculous!

“It will probably lessen the amount of that kind of stuff we see going forward.”

Despite the injury to Curtin, Cornes remains highly optimistic that Adelaide will flourish in 2026, particularly noting the elite shape several of their stars have carried through pre-season.

Exiting the finals in straight sets following their first-placed finish in 2025, the Crows appear in great nick off the back of the summer break, with revenge the motive for Matthew Nicks’ men.

“I’m still hearing great things from how well the Crows are training,” he continued.

“I’m just so impressed with the way they returned from that off-season break.

“How good their bodies looked - the work they must have put in over the break is showing that they’ve got a really good culture down there.”

With that in mind, Cornes has the minor premiers in and amongst the upper echelon for the upcoming season.

“I’m still really positive that they will finish top four,” he said.

“It’s one off the better lists in the AFL in my opinion. It’s just the nerves on that first final. Eventually, it just clicks.

“(Callum) Ah Chee will be really important for them, having all that finals experience.

“(I'm) really positive that they will be at the upper end of the ladder.”

Adelaide’s first pre-season hit out is set for February 20th, as the Crows take on cross-town rivals Port Adelaide in a pre-season contest at Alberton Oval.