Adelaide: As widely predicted, Adelaide introduced Don Pyke as their 10th coach in 26 seasons on Friday and with him came the promise of striving harder to be better, a vision created by the late Phil Walsh.
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Pyke, 46, is no stranger to the club, having worked alongside Neil Craig in 2005-06 when West Coast were reportedly having drug issues and beat the Crows in preliminary finals.
More relevant is that Pyke continued to earn tremendous respect as a stoppages and structures coach under Adam Simpson at West Coast the past two seasons.
According to CEO Andrew Fagan, Pyke's business acumen and his outstanding leadership qualities, added to his impeccable football credentials, made him a stand-out candidate. The Crows first spoke to him mid-August, and Carlton and Essendon, who were also looking for a coach, did not approach him.
Both Pagan and Pyke repeatedly referred to Adelaide being in a unique situation during Friday's announcement, perhaps best highlighted by the fact that for Eddie Betts this new appointment represents his seventh coach in 12 seasons. There are 14 other players who have their sixth coach in six seasons including interim appointments – Craig, Mark Bickley, Brenton Sanderson, Walsh, Scott Camporeale and now Pyke. It is the same for Patrick Dangerfield.
It was not something dismissed by the Crows' coaching selection board headed by board member Mark Ricciuto, and it was obviously confident Pyke could not only bring something new to the club, but maintain many of the ideals and long-term strategies left by Walsh.
Pyke said his appointment was not about closing off the legacy Walsh left behind. "I am very respectful of Phil and what he brought to the club," Pyke said. "There are a lot of good things at this footy club, and a lot of them were started by Phil.
"My challenge is to come in and work with the things that are good and try and identify the things that we can improve further. I will be meeting with coaches and players in the coming weeks to see how they see the side, and to identify areas where we need to get better. We will build from there.
"I am respectful of the past, but we have to move on as a footy club and we need to move into our next era; my responsibility as a leader is to drive that."
Pyke didn't promise the Crows would evolve into forming a "web" defence like the Eagles or copy their entire game style, stressing there was a need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Crows and work around them.
"My philosophy is pretty much around playing total football, and that's three phases of the game – contested ball, our ball movement and team defence," Pyke said.
"I am not going to go into detail how exactly we will play, but I will be talking to our coaches and players how we see our strengths and weaknesses in those areas.
"I want to create an environment where we are focused on continual improvement, not only our players but coaches. It's a tough industry.
"I spoke to mainly the senior leadership group last night by phone, as well as coaches, more as an introduction. Clearly you are not going to build a relationship over a two-minute phone call, but just to say look it has been a tough year for the football club... enjoy the break, get their bodies right, get their minds fresh and make sure we come back towards the end of November when we start pre-season training in really good shape.
"I am excited, I am energised by the opportunity to work with a side that has made the finals. We are in a good position.
"I am also passionate about fostering a winning culture and united approach where everyone has a focus on doing what is best for the team."
