The two hours of game time are all most fans get to see of their team each weekend, but there’s a lot of work and preparation that goes in behind the scenes the day before and after a match.
In part two of this three-part series, afc.com.au takes an inside look at the Club's trip to the Gold Coast.
THE unusual twilight timeslot makes for a long morning on Saturday.
Breakfast is served in the hotel restaurant from 7-10:30am allowing the players to get up at their leisure in keeping with their individual game-day routines.
The restaurant has every angle of breakfast covered from bacon and eggs to cereal, fruit and pancakes, and most of the players load up their plates with a bit of each.
After breakfast, the team meets in the foyer before heading outside for a walk and light stretch.
The itinerary handed to each member of the travelling party says the bus doesn’t depart for Metricon Stadium until 1.25pm, leaving the players with another hour or so to kill.
They slip into their own pre-match routines. Some plug in the headphones and listen to their choice of music; others read newspapers and enjoy a few minutes of quiet time, while a few players simply carry on as normal.
Despite having eaten less than two hours earlier, the players sit down to lunch from 11:45am.
It’s the last meal they’ll eat before the game against the Suns, and they make the most of it consuming more carbs and plenty of water and Powerade.
The bus arrives on time, and the players load their bags and take their seats.
Mark Bickley upsets Brenton Sanderson and Jason Porplyzia’s usual seating arrangement, sliding in alongside the coach in the front row.
Fortunately, the front row seat on the opposite side of the bus is free and ‘Porps’ takes a seat there.
Mobile phones are switched off and the radio coverage of the Melbourne v Essendon game coming through the speakers is dulled.
With the exception of murmurings between ‘Sando’ and ‘Bicks’ at the front of the bus and a couple of players, the bus is quiet.
The chatter picks up when several passengers notice the bus cruising directly past the stadium.
The driver has taken a ‘scenic’ route to avoid an alleged road closure, and Sando -eager to get to the ground in his first official game in charge - is growing impatient.
He politely asks the driver, “How much longer do you think, mate?”
The driver replies “a couple of minutes”, as he negotiates a series of roundabouts in suburbia.
Eventually, the bus arrives at its destination. The driver pulls up alongside a car-park attendant to find out where he can make the drop-off.
“I’ve got the Crows. Where should I go?” the driver of the bus, which is clearly labelled with a sign reading ‘Adelaide Crows team bus, Metricon Stadium, March 31’.
“You’ve got the who?!” the attendant responds much to the amusement of the passengers at the front of the bus, who suggest AFL is still very much a developing market on the Gold Coast.
Fox Footy cameras are there to capture the players and coaches getting off the bus and walking to the change rooms.
Some of the players walk straight through the rooms and onto the ground to check out the surface. Others head straight to the trainers to be strapped, while a few change into their full playing kit.
The interchange bench is a hive of activity.
The Club’s Performance Analysts ensure the communication from the bench to the coach’s box is established. GPS monitoring is also set-up, while the trainers put massage tables and an exercise bike in place.
Support staff from both teams say, ‘hello’.
Many, including Team Manager Barrie Downs (20 years) and Head Trainer Vinnie Del Bono (20 years) have worked in the industry for a long time and have friends throughout the competition.
Sando is interviewed by Fox Footy and admits to being “a bit toey”, trying to make sure everything is as it should be ahead of his coaching debut.
Assistant coach Scott Camporeale does a radio interview on the sidelines, while Football Manager Phil Harper heads up to the commentary box to speak to FIVEaa.
Crows debutant Tom Lynch is revealed as the substitute, as the teams are lodged with the AFL 90 minutes before the game.
After learning he won’t be required today, travelling emergency Matt Wright also makes his way down to the interchange bench.
About an hour before the game, everyone assembles for a team meeting.
Tom Lynch is presented with his guernsey by Patrick Dangerfield, who opened the doors to the former Saint when he was first traded to Adelaide in October.
Dangerfield tells the group Lynch the No.27 has previously been worn by two 100-game players, Matthew Liptak and Scott Stevens, and wishes the lively forward the best in his first game for the Club.
The team completes an on-field warm-up before heading back inside for last-minute preparation.
The Crows Supporter Group hoists the banner and at 3:30pm the team runs out onto Metricon Stadium for its first game of the 2012 season.
Check back later in the week for the final instalment of the three-part series, ‘On the Road with the Crows’.