A new addition to afc.com.au in season 2012, 'Behind Crows Doors' will bring you up to speed with all the goings-on off the field at West Lakes.
A milestone to remember
Avid supporter Edith Weeden celebrated her 100th Birthday at West Lakes during the week. The entire team took time out of training to pose for a photo with Edith and present the Birthday girl with a Crows guernsey with the number ‘100’ on the back. Edith was also lucky enough to steal a hug (and a cheeky kiss) from her favourite players Graham Johncock and Rory Sloane.
Happy Birthday, Edith!
Another father-son…?
The Adelaide faithful are waiting to hear whether the Bickley family will provide another potential father-son recruit following the news senior assistant coach Mark and his wife Tory are expecting their second child due early next season. The couple already has one young son, Tyson. ‘Bicks’ also has three older girls.
Crows take flight
The post-season break must feel like a lifetime ago after two weeks of intense pre-season training but the players certainly made the most of their time away from West Lakes, travelling far and wide.
A group of nearly 20 players including skipper Nathan van Berlo, Bernie Vince, Taylor Walker, Andy Otten, Sam Jacobs, Jared Petrenko, Brodie Smith and Aidan Riley ventured to Bali for a week in October.
The Crows contingent arrived at their destination to discover they’d narrowly avoided an earthquake, which had rocked Indonesia during their flight.
After dismissing concerns over the travelling party’s wellbeing, Vince took to Twitter saying, ‘…there was no earthquake over here in Bali…it was just us arriving. That’s how we roll!’
Ironically, an earthquake also struck Adelaide the day after the players arrived home.
Ricky Henderson and former best and fairest winner Richard Douglas, who accompanied his family, spent time in Thailand, while Club champion Scott Thompson did his best to ‘relax’ with his two young children and wife in Port Douglas.
Jason Porplyzia took in the sights of France, Italy and the United Kingdom in a trip to Europe, while Patrick Dangerfield preferred a spear-fishing expedition with his dad in Darwin.
Closer to home, Douglas, Graham Johncock, Richard Tambling and former rookie Chris Schmidt visited communities in the APY Lands.
Even new coach Brenton Sanderson enjoyed some well-earned down time, whisking his partner Veronika away to Bali.
Wedding bells
The offseason is also the time for nuptials and this year was no exception, with fitness coach and former Crows fan favourite Matt Bode marrying partner Kamala Lamshed.
