History of the Adelaide Football Club
Throughout the 1980s, the Victorian Football League (VFL) began to expand outside of Victoria, firstly by the relocation of a team into New South Wales (Sydney Swans) in 1982, and then the expansion into Western Australia (West Coast Eagles) and Queensland (Brisbane Bears) in 1987.
[14] Because sixth-placed West Coast had defeated third-placed North Melbourne, Adelaide progressed to the second semi-final against Carlton at Waverley Park, with a double-chance ensuring they would not be knocked out of the finals by a loss.
[7] Tony Modra kicked 70 goals to finish as the club's leading goalscorer,[8] while Rehn and Mark Ricciuto were both All-Australians,[9] and Matthew Kluzek and Sean Wellman achieved Rising Star nominations.
Malcolm Blight resigned as coach at the end of the season, to be replaced by Gary Ayres, while popular defender (and inaugural leading goalkicker) Rod Jameson also played his final game in Adelaide's round 22 loss to the Kangaroos (newly renamed from North Melbourne).
David Gallagher and Brett Burton both received AFL Rising Star nominations, while Darren Jarman led Adelaide's goalkicking for the second consecutive year with 58 goals.
The Crows traded away premiership ruckman Shaun Rehn to Hawthorn at the end of the season, receiving draft pick 12 which they on-traded to Port Adelaide for Matthew Bode.
They also received young key forward Ryan Fitzgerald from Sydney for pick 28, who would play only eight games for Adelaide due to injury, but would later become a popular radio and television personality and a high-profile supporter of the club.
Adelaide won their first three matches in 2002, and despite a mid-season slump of three losses in a row (Rounds 12–14) they finished the season in third place with a 15–7 win–loss record, both club bests at the time.
In 2003, Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto became the first Crow to win the Brownlow Medal for the best and fairest player in the AFL in a three-way tie with Adam Goodes and Nathan Buckley.
In a tough, low-scoring contest Adelaide missed the leadership of captain Mark Ricciuto, suspended for striking Adam Selwood the previous week, and despite a late fightback they lost by eight points: 10.5 (65) to 8.9 (57).
In another tough game in windy conditions, West Coast broke away with five goals to one in a decisive third quarter, and again a final-quarter comeback was in vain as the Eagles ended Adelaide's season, 14.9 (93) to 11.11 (77).
However, a brilliant second-half performance by Ben Cousins saw West Coast come back to take the lead in the last quarter and hold on to win, 11.19 (85) to 11.9 (75), a bitter end to a year that had promised so much.
The Crows showed patchy, inconsistent form throughout 2007, with previously successful coach Neil Craig criticised at times for his strict, inflexible game plan.
However, a tiring midfield and injuries to key forwards Brett Burton and Jason Porplyzia resulted in a mid-season slide similar to the previous year, with the Crows falling out of the top eight after five consecutive losses.
Again, though, Adelaide finished strongly with five wins in their last six home-and-away matches, including a shock round 22 victory over the third-placed Western Bulldogs which temporarily lifted the Crows into fourth position.
A 108-point win by St Kilda over Essendon the next day saw the Saints overtake Adelaide on percentage; the Crows fell to fifth, costing them a double-chance and sending them into a sudden death Elimination Final against eighth-placed Collingwood at AAMI Stadium.
The sharp decline from their semi-final appearance in 2009 came due to a combination of poor form and injury troubles; no fewer than six players made their AFL debut in the first nine rounds of the season.
[33][34] The Crows won just two of their last six games but continued their good form in pushing top four sides the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood to close margins and upsetting third-placed St Kilda in the final round.
They faced West Coast in the final at AAMI Stadium on 17 March, and won 2.10.17 (95) to 2.5.13 (61), with Bernie Vince winning the Michael Tuck Medal for best on ground.
They eventually finished second with 17 wins and 5 losses, equalling the club's best home-and-away record set in 2005 and only missing out on the minor premiership to Hawthorn by percentage.
Emerging midfielder Rory Sloane won the Malcolm Blight Medal from Richard Douglas, while Patrick Dangerfield was an All-Australian for the second year running.
The move to Adelaide Oval paid dividends with a league-best average home crowd of 48,046, but performances on the field were poor as the club lost six out of twelve games at the venue.
[75] On 3 July, two days prior to Adelaide's then-scheduled round 14 match against Geelong, coach Phil Walsh was the victim of a domestic dispute and died from multiple stab wounds at the age of 55.
The match, played on Saturday night, was a tight contest with neither side leading by more than 19 points at any stage, but a five-goal performance by Eddie Betts helped Adelaide to a 7-point win, 16.13 (109) to 14.18 (102).
With eventual Malcolm Blight Medallist Rory Sloane receiving a suspension, Adelaide suffered a costly 29-point loss to the West Coast Eagles at home; this defeat dropped them to fifth on the ladder.
Adelaide were hoping to atone for their disappointing Grand Final performance in 2018, but a number of factors, such as player departures, injuries and a highly controversial preseason camp conspired to ruin the Crows’ season.
The Crows hosted the first-ever Friday night Showdown in Round 3, and claimed one of their best-ever wins via an after-the-siren bending kick from the recruit Dawson, who received best-on-ground honours.
Some controversial finishes, including one in round 23 against Sydney, when a Ben Keays goal was mistakenly disallowed, cost the Crows their first AFL finals series in seven years.
[110][111] Adelaide finished 2023 in 10th on the ladder, their best position since 2017, in part due to the leadership of their new captain Jordan Dawson, who won his first Malcolm Blight Medal.
Despite high expectations,[112] 2024 was another disappointing year for the club,[113] with a lack of on-field performance resulting in questions being raised around Nicks' coaching,[114] particularly amid the choice to drop young forward Josh Rachele following a bitter Showdown loss.
