Adelaide’s first Crows will be paraded at AAMI Stadium before the game on Saturday night.

Nearly all of the 20 players who played for Adelaide in its AFL debut game of 1991 - including Chris McDermott, John Klug, David Marshall, Nigel Smart and Rodney Maynard - will be presented to the crowd in a motorcade starting at 6.40pm.

And they will be joined by other members of the 52-man foundation squad in a guard of honor at the race before the 2011 Crows players enter the field at 6.59pm.
McDermott, who captained the first side, said he was proud of what this foundation group created.

“I remember telling the players at the time that they were part of something special, that they were doing something unique,” he said. “This is the opportunity, for the first time since the first season, to come back to the club, sit back and look at the painting. This is a moment to be proud of.”

Adelaide CEO Steven Trigg said the first Crows deserved to be recognised for playing a major part in the Club’s creation.

“Chris McDermott yesterday spoke passionately of what it means to him as he reflected (20 years later) on the role his group played in the formation of our Club,” Trigg said.

“Indeed Chris himself, and all of the players involved in 1991, should be very proud of what they achieved. If one looks back on that history, and the speed with which it all came together, those guys did a mighty job.

“They only started training together in the last days of October 1990, and just four and a half months later they fronted for a premiership season match - and won it. Along the way, and with an incredible trial outing v Essendon over the summer, they captured the hearts and minds of so many South Australian football followers that it set us on our way.

“But probably more than that, Chris and his fellow players established a ‘can-do’ attitude, and a ‘work ethic’ that is still palpably a part of the Club today. Some of those players may quietly question whether an effort 20 years ago can still be relevant, but from today’s management perspective, it counts! As the saying goes, ‘you reap what you sew’!”