The Adelaide Crows are co-operating with SafeWork SA after the government body confirmed it was conducting a “comprehensive” investigation into the Crows’ controversial pre-season camp held before the start of the 2018 season.
The camp, which took place on the Gold Coast after the Crows lost the 2017 grand final to Richmond, has dogged the club since, with reports of players being taken to an unknown location for a series of resilience-building exercises.
SafeWork SA confirmed the investigation on Saturday in a statement to The Age, after a News Corp report on Friday. Preliminary enquiries had started in July, with South Australian Premier Steve Marshall saying at a press conference at the time that he had found some allegations surrounding what happened on the camp “disturbing”.
“SafeWork SA’s comprehensive enquiries into the Adelaide Football Club’s 2018 pre-season camp are continuing. Adelaide Football Club has been voluntarily assisting in providing information as requested by SafeWork SA. As this is an ongoing matter, we are unable to provide any further information at this time,” the statement said.
The Crows’ former chairman Rob Chapman has previously said that an internal review found that relationships within the football department had been affected by the camp, with the club also conceding from midway 2018 that some aspects could have been handled better and communicated better to the players.
The AFL integrity department did not sanction the club after investigating the camp and the AFL Players’ Association did not take action. The internal review into the club, led by former AFL greats Jason Dunstall and Matthew Pavlich, was held after coach Don Pyke resigned as coach at the end of 2019.
They subsequently appointed a new football manager in Adam Kelly and former Richmond utility Dan Jackson to run leadership and culture programs. There are 19 players from the 2018 list who will be at the Crows in 2021.
Source: The Age
