Two more sackings as Adelaide Crows complete clean-out
Adelaide head of football Brett Burton and senior assistant coach Scott Camporeale have both been sacked by the Crows following the completion of a review into the AFL club's football department.
Commissioned off the back of two poor seasons since the Crows' appearance in the 2017 AFL grand final, the assessment found no "single issue" responsible for the downturn but "a series of events or issues that, despite a number of attempts, could not be sufficiently addressed".
Senior coach Don Pyke and captain Taylor Walker stepped down before the process got underway, with a new coach to be appointed within the week.
"We have made some hard decisions and are transitioning into a new era, and rejuvenating what is already a talented playing list so we can hopefully achieve the ultimate success," Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman said.
Adelaide came under particular scrutiny for a training camp in the 2018 pre-season, with former player Cam Ellis-Yolmen saying this week the initiative "didn't work" and had left the playing group "divided".
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The review was completed over six weeks by an external panel comprising Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall, former Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich and high performance experts Jonah Oliver and Dr Tim Gabbett.
It ran in conjunction with an internal appraisal and found along with a change in leadership, the club needed more emphasis on "maintaining and in some instances improving personal relationships".
As a result, it installed a head of leadership and culture in a bid to deliver a new leadership program across both AFL and AFLW and made minor changes across its high performance department.
A new head of football and the head of leadership and culture will be appointed after the announcement of the incoming senior coach.
Chief executive Andrew Fagan and football director Mark Ricciuto survived the shake-up.
Pyke devastating departure
Pyke broke down when telling senior players, including co-captain Taylor Walker, of his decision to stand down as coach.
"It was pretty sad to see Pykey call it quits, he caught a few people by surprise,” Otten told SEN radio on Wednesday.
"How deflated he kind of looked, that was pretty hard to see.
"It (the club) is an interesting place at the moment.
"The leaders have got to get together, the playing group also have to have a look at themselves and take some of the responsibility.
"He (Pyke) was pretty stressed out towards the end of it and the uncertainty with this review probably took its toll."