How Nicks rebuilt the Crows from rubble

When Matthew Nicks arrived to coach Adelaide, he knew what he wanted.

Trust. In him. And his vision.

It didn’t come automatically when Nicks detailed the need for a rebuild of the Crows’ playing list, having been appointed on a three-year contract in October 2019.

“Shit. This is going to be tough for a few years,” veteran Rory Laird told AAP of his thoughts at the time.

Laird was right.

And so was Nicks, whose rebuild is now a template for other clubs.

First, strip the list of players unlikely to feature in the club’s next premiership.

Within a month of Nicks’ appointment, Eddie Betts, Sam Jacobs, Josh Jenkins, Hugh Greenwood and Richard Douglas were gone, either traded or delisted.

Next, nail draft selections.

In 2019, the Crows picked up Josh Worrell. A year later, Riley Thilthorpe, Luke Pedlar and Sam Berry, followed by Josh Rachele and Jake Soligo (both 2021), Max Michalanney (2022) and Dan Curtin (2023).

Then, trade for key players such as Jordan Dawson (end of 2021), Izak Rankine (end of 2022) and Alex Neal-Bullen, James Peatling and Isaac Cumming (all end of 2024).

Laird described Nicks’ blueprint as “holistic”.

“He knew the vision and what he wanted to do,” the Crows’ triple club champion said.

Now, in his sixth year as Crows coach, Nicks has overseen the biggest ladder climb in AFL history – 15th to first – ahead of a home qualifying final against Collingwood on Thursday night.

The feat is far removed from his initial season in 2020 when, in COVID times, the Crows finished last for the first time in history, winning only three games.

“Even though we had a wooden spoon during COVID, I would blame that more so on the actual training conditions – we couldn’t train as this young team,” Laird said.

“The next few years, there were glimpses.

“We beat some of the top teams, we had some really good footy; we also had some poor footy, but we didn’t have 100-point blowouts.”

Nicks’ Crows won seven games in 2021, eight in 2022.

The coach then made a bold – and in hindsight brilliant – decision to appoint Dawson as captain for just his second season at the club.

“Taking over the captaincy, they put so much faith in me and the way I was developing as a leader and to just stick to my guns and keep being myself,” said Dawson, acclaimed by his playing cohort as the competition’s best skipper this season.

In 2023, Adelaide won 11 games. If not for a goal umpiring blunder that cost them a 12th win, they would have played finals.

The mistake was met with fury from Adelaide’s supporters craving a return to the playoffs for the first time since losing the 2017 grand final.

Nicks’ response? He took out a stopwatch and gave his players 60 seconds to vent however they wanted – scream, cry or laugh.

“Whatever gets it off your chest, get out whatever you want to get out, and move on,” Nicks said at the time.

The coach publicly put an expectation of playing finals on the agenda in 2024 when given a two-year contract extension.

Later, he conceded it was a mistake: the Crows won only eight games, with Nicks acknowledging an error in looking at the big picture instead of the minutiae required to win week-by-week.

The concession offered another insight into Nicks, noted by Neal-Bullen when the coach lobbed on his Melbourne doorstep post-season to convince him to leave the Demons.

“They were going through a challenging period at the footy club,” Neal-Bullen said.

“He walked into my home in Melbourne, and straight away I just felt so comfortable.

“There was no frustration from his end around the year that they’ve had.

“He was so excited about where the group was going, although it was a challenging time.

“It gave me a great sense of comfort.

“And also I could tell the competitive side of his role, how much he wanted it.”

Adelaide’s Darcy Fogarty celebrates with teammate Taylor Walker. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Nicks’ competitive streak is hidden by an affable public persona that endears him to all walks of life, from rusted-on fans to corporate bigwigs.

“I could tell straight away that he drives a hard program,” Neal-Bullen said.

“And when I say that, he has got an ability to see a player’s strength but also understand what makes them tick – and not every player ticks the same.

“When I say ticks, what conversation drives them to improve? Some is more nurturing, some is more challenging.

“He’s got a great manner to understand the athlete.”

Nicks’ understanding of each player was also identified by Adelaide’s Irish defender Mark Keane.

With one game remaining in last year’s home-and-away season – coinciding with the tough love Nicks showed Josh Rachele by dropping the precocious talent for not living team-first values – Keane returned to Ireland.

Some thought Keane, a Gaelic football star, had walked out on the club.

But Keane’s early release, and Nicks allowing him to play Gaelic footy in his homeland, was pivotal in the Irishman returning fully committed to the Crows.

“I am not too sure Nicksy wants me to go back and play (Gaelic football),” Keane told AAP.

“But he knew that I really wanted to and that it would recharge me and refuel me, ready to go for a new (AFL) season, rather than getting the itch come April and May to play Gaelic football.

“It was very important to me.”

Keane had played five AFL games for Collingwood in 2020-21 before returning homesick to Ireland.

Nicks and the Crows threw him an AFL lifeline in January 2023 as a pre-season supplemental selection.

It was an inspired move, with the Cork native morphing from an AFL novice to a member of this year’s extended All Australian squad, albeit missing selection in the ceremonial team.

And it all relied on what Nicks wanted when he arrived as Crows coach: trust.

“For him to back me in week-in, week-out, even after a few shaky games last year, he stood by me and trusted,” Keane said.

“I really appreciate the trust Nicksy has in me.

“He’s very well detailed in what he does, and doesn’t leave any stone unturned … he’s a very good coach and doesn’t miss a beat.

“When he talks in meetings, you learn every second he talks.”

Adelaide’s Riley Thilthorpe celebrates a goal. (Photo by Matt King/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)

That’s still the case for 13-season stalwart Laird.

“He’s a very smart man in terms of the understanding of the game and his knowledge of what’s going on,” Laird said.

“He hasn’t changed too much in his demeanour and what he wants from us as a team.

“It was a building block for the last couple of years.

“He obviously went out and had a strategy with (list manager) Justin Reid and (chief executive) Tim Silvers about who he wants to bring in and play as he wants, how they fit into the team.

“Then obviously some recruiting, with Daws (Dawson) and Ranks (Rankine) filling some holes.

“The building blocks for the last couple of years have led to this, it leads to a finals appearance.

“Now, it’s what we can do from here. The important stuff starts.”

© AAP