Chief Executive Steven Trigg updates Crows members and supporters on a range of issues in the midst of a hectic offseason, exclusive to afc.com.au …

Q. It’s been a busy offseason. What are the key areas the Club is focusing on?
ST: “It’s been incredible busy. We’ve had an enormous amount of effort go into our trading and preparation for the draft. David Noble and Hamish Ogilvie, in particular, have done a fantastic job leading the team. They’ve worked long hours and we all have tremendous faith in them.

“Behind the scenes, we’ve been working on the transition to Adelaide Oval. On face value, a move to Adelaide Oval might seem straight forward, but in actual fact there’s a lot of administrative detail that goes with it. We have a new agreement to occupy, which is all about our rights and commercial agreement at Adelaide Oval, and we have a new agreement to occupy here at AAMI Stadium because the circumstances have changed. We’re also in the process of completing a new constitution because there’s a licence transfer pending.

“So, there’s been an enormous amount of back-of-house work going on in all those areas, and we’ve had the traditional offseason tasks of membership and sponsorship renewals and acquisition of new members and sponsors, budgeting, and reviews, so the place is a hive of activity.”

Q. The Club is also in the process of structuring its State League Team. How is that coming along?
ST: "There’s a real enthusiasm about our State League side. Phil Harper and his team are working through the rules and regulations relating to our involvement. On a more exciting note, we’ve engaged our members on the design of our State League guernsey and that’s received a fantastic response. Those designs are being collated now and, in the coming week, we’ll present our members with a short list. Within the next month, we’ll have an idea of what our State League team will look like in the SANFL competition. We’ve got some decisions to make on our veteran player, captaincy and exactly who our top-up players are going to be, so we can get them going by the end of November. It’s all coming to life.”

Q. There have been some staff changes and appointments, not just for the State League team, but across the football department. Can you explain those changes?
ST: "There’s been a lot of change. Heath Younie will be our State League coach and he’ll be well supported by a very experienced coaching group. We’ve made a really significant decision with Paddy Steinfort, who was previously our player development manager. An emerging area that can be harnessed and bolstered is the area of mental skill and the role it plays across the playing and coaching groups and in the development of players. Paddy has taken on a high performance role, focusing on culture, leadership and mental skills. As part of that, we’ll need a new player development manager and we’re going through that process now.

“We’ve appointed Dean Bailey to manage all of our development. Dean will maintain his current portfolio of strategy and his match day role, but he’s got a great capacity to work and get results, so we’ve also put him in charge of overseeing our development program. We’re expanding our development program, so the focus isn’t just on our 1-3-year players but the entire list. We want a broader and more rigorous approach to development of all our players

“Our ability to be successful isn’t just bound up in recruiting and coaching, it’s also about development and we’re giving it everything we’ve got. Dean and Paddy’s appointments and the creation of a State League team are really important elements of that.”

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