Crows CEO Steven Trigg fronted the media upon his return from a six-month suspension on Monday. Here’s a transcript of the press conference …

Trigg’s opening statement …
“There’s no escaping the fact that I will always personally regret having the Club go through what it had to. I have to live with that, but there’s a couple of ways of dealing with that. For me, the very best way to deal with that is to knuckle down, crack in and give it the best shot I can to get it behind us. To genuinely be better for it personally, to be stronger and a better CEO.”

Q. Did you have any second thoughts as to whether it was the right decision to come back to the Club?
A. “Not in recent times. Late last year there were all sorts of different emotions. As time’s gone on, you reconcile it and understand it better in your head. It’s not rhetoric. I want to genuinely learn and be better from it. I went away. I needed a rest. I had a look at some other environments in world sport, which was a great experience. I think I can bring some things back from that. It just became a stronger and stronger determination to come back and make good.”

Q. What have you learnt from the experience?
A. “You learn more about yourself and the people around you; those who are there and those who aren’t, and those who can and those who can’t. In world sport, there are a lot of things. I looked at stadia, culture and a range of things. I enjoyed it, but hopefully I can put some of that into action here as well.”

Q. When the November draft comes around and Adelaide misses out on its first and second-round draft picks again, how do you explain it to your members?
A. “One of the tasks I have is to try to overcome those obstacles. It’s a sting alright, don’t worry about that. It’s quite an obstacle. We have a terrific player development program and we already have one of the youngest lists in the competition. If we can do even better in that area, I think we can overcome it. If we give the recruiting guys all the resources in the world they need, I think we can overcome it. It depends what we can do in trade and free agency, but we’re going to give it everything we’ve got to overcome the hurdle.”

Q. How closely have you been following the commentary about your return to the Club?
A. “I saw the headline last week and that’s just uninformed. Jeff Kennett wouldn’t know the facts. Having been in this business for a while, I know there are always mixed emotions. One of the things that sets this industry apart is the sheer emotion attached. You’re always going to have different opinions and emotions. I could get into a slanging match with a former Premier, but what’s the point? What I really need to do is knuckle down and let my actions speak from here on in.”

Q. Some fans say they can no longer trust a CEO that ‘misled’ them? What do you say to those people?
A. “As I said, what I do from here on in is how I’d like to be judged.”

Q. You offered to resign when it all happened. How serious were you?
A. “I was dead serious. If it was the best thing for the Club, then that’s what should happen. When you’re in the firestorm yourself, are you the best one to make that decision? I think the answer is probably no, but I was fully prepared to back down if that was the best thing for the Club for people who could think more rationally about it at the time. I’m very lucky that I’ve got a Board who supported me because there aren’t many second chances given in this tough business of ours. They obviously thought clearly that I could and should continue. Rob Chapman has done a great job filling the breach while I’ve been away. The Board have been calm and supportive – it’s tested their patience no end I’m sure. As you can imagine, all that does is underline my obligation to repay that faith even more.”

Q. Over the course of this issue, from framing the contract to when it all blew up, what was your single biggest mistake?
A. “Not dealing with it properly once we realised there was a problem with it. But hindsight’s an easy thing.”

Q. Has the off-field saga affected the players this season?
A. “It’s a really good question. I don’t think so. I spent considerable time with Brenton discussing what we’d been through and whether we felt as though it would be a distraction. The answer was a clear-cut ‘No’, so I don’t think there’s any way in the world we should be using that as an out for the performance at the moment. I’ve seen probably half our games. I’ve been away for the other half. What I’m seeing, I can’t imagine it stems back to the turmoil last year. From what I’ve seen there are a bunch of other factors.”

Q. You were repeatedly asked about the Tippett contract over the last couple of years. Are you uncomfortable now with how you answered some of those questions?
A. “I’m uncomfortable about the whole thing. There are a couple of ways of responding to that. You can curl up in a corner and feel sorry for yourself, or stand up and say, ‘I stuffed it up and we need to make good on it’. I prefer the latter.”

Q. What are some of the emotions you’re experiencing today?
A. “I’ve been awake since 4am. I’m excited about getting back. There’s a bit of edginess. It’s a bit like your first day of school in terms of wanting to get on and get things done. I know people won’t let it happen so quickly, but I want to put it behind us and make sure I can crack in as hard as I possibly can. I don’t know how long I’ve got left in this job. There have been no guarantees given to me either way and I haven’t put a time frame on it myself but there’s a lot of work to be done. I just have this overwhelming sense of obligation to crack in like a player playing like it’s his last game, giving everything he’s got.”

Q. Will you change at all in your role as CEO?
A. “I’ll change a little bit. I have to. I’d like to think with the restructure of our senior executive team that they can take a bit more of the load. It will allow me to more effectively deal with things like Adelaide Oval, licences, reserves teams, our future and the commercial side of the business.”

Q. What’s it been like watching Kurt Tippett in a Swans guernsey?
A. “I know you’ll think this is a benign answer, but I didn’t have a particular emotion. We’ve all been beaten up so much it felt like, let’s just get on with it. I think the punishments were harsh all round. There are different views of all of that, but when the AFL handed down its findings and penalties, I made the comment they were penalties to set an example. I genuinely feel as though Kurt, like the rest of us, copped a harsh penalty. I wish him well in his career. At the time, I was pretty angry about it and I’m sure they (the Tippett) camp was angry too. Is there any point in hanging onto that? I just need to get back to work today and get stuck into it.”