Stunning new details emerge of the camp that derailed Crows' season

Incredible details have emerged that reveal just how badly the Adelaide Crows failed with mind performance company Collective Mind.

After Collective Mind fronted a press conference to deflect and deny claims of poor practices during their pre-season camp with the AFL club, Sam McClure told SEN just how badly the Crows mismanaged the situation.

While company director Amon Woulfe stated Collective Mind’s association with the club ended before the season begun, McClure revealed coach Don Pyke made the stunning decision to bring them back into the mix midway through the season, despite the obvious disgust of the playing group after their initial experience with the group.

“As the bizarre press conference at the MCG left us with more questions than answers, the timeline of the player dismay and ultimate revolt at the camp has become clearer — and the crisis and mismanagement of this camp has been plunged into depths we previously didn’t think possible,” McClure told SEN.

McClure revealed how a player meeting at captain Taylor Walker’s house led to the club ceasing contact with Collective Mind prior to Round 5 of the season, after which they enjoyed a strong run of form.

“The feeling of relief among the players was then palpable after they moved to end the program,” McClure said.

Despite winning four of their next five games, coach Pyke made the call to bring the mind performance company back into the mix, ahead of Round 10.

“Suddenly, the mood changed. That same feeling of stress and anxiety that emanated from the camp returned,” McClure said.

Unsurprisingly, the team capitulated on field, losing by 91 points to Melbourne soon after, and winning just one of their next five games.

The coaching staff eventually got the message and Collective Mind was dumped as Adelaide struggled to a 6-7 record.

The Crows finished the season 12th on the ladder after playing off in the grand final last year.

Despite the clear failing of the club on the field, Collective Mind director Woulfe continues to insist there was no issue with his camps.

Woulfe rubbished claims players were forced to listen to the Richmond theme song on loop, saying the feedback from players had been “overwhelmingly positive”.

He confirmed an indigenous player had expressed concerns about the appropriate use of a traditional talking stick but said the issue was quickly resolved.

He also conceded some players found the camp “unusual” and were uncomfortable with participating in group discussions.

But Woulfe hit back at Pyke’s description of the camp, saying every aspect had been signed off at the highest level of the club and all players had received psychological clearance from the club doctor.

“We feel that the camp was great … we delivered on the brief that was given to us by the Crows,” Woulfe told reporters.

“If there was anything that happened on the camp that was not OK, the club would have addressed it straight away back in February.

“If half of what has been said and speculated about was true, we would have been fired in an instant.”

The Crows declined to comment.

Psychologists body warns AFL over gurus

Australia’s peak psychologist body has now warned AFL clubs desperately seeking an edge over their competitors that they are putting the mental health of their players at risk if they use unqualified mind gurus.

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) issued the warning on the same day the company behind Adelaide’s disastrous pre-season camp attempted damage control.

The Crows, who finished 12th on the ladder after playing off in the grand final last year, cut ties with Collective Mind midway through the season amid reports the psychologically-stressful camp had caused lingering tensions within the playing group and offended indigenous players.

But the mind training firm denied players were left scarred by the experience and deflected blame for Adelaide’s dreadful season at a press conference held in Melbourne on Monday.

Company director Amon Woulfe confirmed while Australian Defence Force personnel and qualified counsellors had been involved in the program, there was no registered psychologist on site at the Gold Coast camp.

“The AFL is always looking for the next guru to provide them with a winning formula, so they are primed for these unqualified and unregistered people,” APS sports psychologist Jeff Bond said.

“They show great websites and great testimonials about how good they are, and whose mind they have been able to change to become winners.

“They get picked up by clubs who are desperate to find the key to winning.

“They come up with a whole range of explanations for what they’re doing without using the term psychology or necessarily promoting themselves as psychologists.

“But at the end of the day they are not qualified to be doing what they are doing.”

APS chief executive Frances Mirabelli urged sports clubs to undertake proper due diligence to ensure they use registered psychologists as “they are working in domains where potential harm can be done.”