Bed-lam
The travelling party for Adelaide’s NAB Cup clash with the Brisbane Lions last weekend enjoyed some of the best hospitality Alice Springs had to offer - that is, perhaps, with the exception of defender Lewis Johnston. Johnston checked into the team hotel on Friday afternoon to discover his room was full of massage tables, with no bed in sight. At the Club’s request, the hotel set up a massage area where the players could receive treatment, but a mix-up saw the room double-booked. Fortunately for Johnston, the player in the neighbouring room, Jared Petrenko, was kind enough to open his doors to a teammate in need.
Fore!
Petrenko might’ve shared a room with Johnston, but he could be forgiven for not teaming up with the new recruit on the golf course. Several Crows players and officials dusted off the clubs to help pass the time on a quiet Saturday morning ahead of the Club’s night match against the Lions. Johnston decided not to take his game further than the driving range after slicing a ball out of the range and onto the roof of a nearby hotel. It wasn’t a great start to the day for Johnston, who celebrated his 21st Birthday on Saturday. Happy Birthday, Lewy!
Up in the air … and under the weather
Crows head trainer Vinnie Del Bono would’ve wished he’d stuck to the golf course after an unpleasant experience with flying over the weekend. Del Bono, defender Luke Thompson and general manager football operations Phil Harper organised a visit to a remote cattle station owned by long-time coterie group (Vice-President) member Grant Heaslip prior to the team’s return flight to Adelaide. Heaslip took Del Bono, Harper and qualified helicopter pilot Thompson on an aerial tour of his vast property in a four-seater, Cessna 182. Del Bono overcame a bout of motion sickness while the plane was up in the air by opening a small window, but started to feel ill again on the windy and bumpy car ride back to the hotel and told Harper to pull over. However, Harper couldn’t get off the road quick enough and by the time the team reached the airport, news of Del Bono’s weak stomach had spread throughout the (largely unsympathetic) players and staff.
Crows in the community
With his feet firmly back on the ground, Thompson joined teammates Graham Johncock and Richard Tambling at a coaching clinic for children from local schools and town camps in Willowra. The clinic was an initiative of the Mental Health Association of Central Australia.
Coaches play the waiting game
The Crows family has two new members and is waiting on another, with the wife of development coach Tate Kaesler due to give birth any day. This follows the birth of Samuel Fletcher Clarke - the second child (first son) of development coach Matthew and his partner Ali Carle - on Wednesday, and the birth of Xavier Max Bickley, the fifth child (second son) of senior assistant coach Mark.
Bickley missed the trip to Alice Springs to be by Tori’s side, leaving Kaesler - whose wife isn’t due until this week - in charge of the forward line for the first time. ‘Bicks’ might have to fight to reclaim his spot in the coach’s box after the team kicked 14 goals on the way to a 51-point win under Kaesler’s command.
The case of the missing shoe
Wingman Brodie Smith was also left waiting around at Adelaide Airport on Sunday afternoon after having one of his shoes stolen by a mischievous teammate during the flight. Smith was forced to walk off the plane and through the terminal in his socks, carrying his other shoe until the missing sneaker turned up. He took to Twitter, accusing likely suspect Taylor Walker and Shaun McKernan of being the culprits.
Martin makes his mark
An emergency for Adelaide’s NAB Cup clash with the Lions, Brodie Martin made his return from a minor hamstring in an intra-club trial with Sturt last Friday night. The dashing wingman enjoyed a night out for the Double Blues, picking up more than 30 possessions in three quarters and taking an absolute hanger in the goal square. Unfortunately, there were no cameras at the Mount Barker ground and Martin has no proof of his early Mark of the Year contender.
Howzaaat?
New Crows draftee Tom Lynch enjoyed a visit from good friend and Aussie cricket sensation James Pattinson recently. In Adelaide, playing for Victoria’s Second XI in his return match from injury, the young tear-away quick was treated to some South Australian hospitality, enjoying homemade pizzas with Matt Jaensch and also Bernie Vince and Tex Walker at the home of the cricket-loving pair.
Sign here, please
The Westpac Centre Shed Floor was covered with tables of Crows merchandise earlier this week as the playing group and coach Brenton Sanderson took part in the Club’s biannual ‘mega signing session’. The players walked up and down the rows (and rows) of footballs, guernseys and posters individually signing each item. Sanderson and skipper Nathan van Berlo would’ve had particularly sore hands on Monday night after autographing several hundred pieces of merchandise, which will be used for various causes throughout the season.
