We are the champions

The Football Department last week took out the inaugural ‘Barrie ‘BJ’ Downs’ shield, defeating the Crows’ Commercial team in the Grand Final of the AFC Soccer Championship.

Not even the defection of assistant coach Scott Camporeale to Commercial’s ‘Green Machine’ was enough to stop the all-conquering ‘All-Whites’, who ran out 2-1 winners in front of a modest, but vocal crowd at Max Basheer Reserve.

Defensive coach Darren Milburn starred with two goals for the All-Whites, while Community Development Assistant Nigel Osborn scored the only goal for Commercial.

Unlike previous matches, there were no reports laid in the Final, but there was one casualty with General Manager People and Communications Craig Burton injuring his groin after a collision with Milburn, who proved his competitive juices are still flowing even in retirement.

The ‘Green Machine’ progressed through to the Grand Final despite not registering a win in the minor-round of the prestigious two-team competition.

Coach Brenton Sanderson tries to evade Corporate Sales Manager Paul Bauer with some fancy footwork

Young midfielders muscle up

An emphasis on strength training has paid dividends for some of the smaller Crows, who have added muscle mass since the end of last season.

Rookie Sam Martyn (2kg muscle mass), David Mackay (2.3kg), Rick Henderson (2.4kg) and Brodie Smith (2.5kg) are all noticeably bigger, but midfielder terrier Rory Sloane has led the way, adding 3.5kg of muscle mass.

The players will break for Christmas on Friday, December 23, but the festive season won’t provide much relief for injured utility Will Young.

Young hopes to celebrate Boxing Day by running for the first time since fracturing his fibula in the SANFL finals series almost three months ago.

The 21-year-old, who was cut from the Crows’ primary list at the end of the season but was earlier in the month reclaimed as a rookie, hopes to return to full training by early February.

Defender Daniel Talia is also making good progress in his recovery from Achilles surgery.

Talia was cleared to start running a week ago, and could join the main training group when the players return to West Lakes on January 9.

Meet the parents

Adelaide’s new recruits and their families were invited to West Lakes on Saturday for the annual Player and Parents induction lunch.

The families went on a tour of the Club’s facilities and were introduced to new coach Brenton Sanderson.

The parents of interstate recruits Brad Crouch, Sam Kerridge and Dylan Orval also had an opportunity to meet the host families, who will be entrusted with looking after their sons and providing them with a home away from home in season 2012.

Brad Crouch with host 'parents' Maria and Sav Ruggiero

Third time's a charm

Luke Thompson’s reason for moving into his third locker since arriving at the Club has nothing to do with superstition, former footy idols, or a dislike for his neighbours in the change room.

Luke, who owned locker No.1 when he was rookie-listed by the Crows in 2010 and then shifted into No.28 ahead of the 2011 season, requested to switch to locker No.6 after wearing the jumper number with Woodville-West Torrens SANFL premiership team in October.

The most famous Crow to ever wear the No.6 is, of course, the Club’s all-time leading goalkicker Tony Modra.

Hoo-Roo!

Crows legend Mark Ricciuto has become a father again, with Mark’s wife Sarah giving birth to the couple’s fourth child, a girl named Rosie on Friday, December 16.

The proud parents now have an even split of boys and girls, with Rosie joining sister Sophie and future father-son recruits (hopefully) in Nick and Joe.

Surfs up

The players enjoyed time away from West Lakes last Friday, heading to Middleton for a morning of sun and surf.

Experienced surfers including Rory Sloane, Patrick Dangerfield, Nathan van Berlo and Kurt Tippett were in their element, but several other players didn’t even make it into the somewhat choppy water.

After objecting to the exercise on the drive to Middleton, assistant coach Scott Camporeale proved to be an instant hit, standing up on the surfboard in his first attempt.

Prior to the trip, new rookie Ben Dowdell took to Twitter to express his trepidation about the activity, saying ‘Being the worst runner and the worst swimmer, this aqua-thon thing should suit me perfect…’

Emu on the run

It’s great to hear former Crow Nick Gill has landed a full-time radio gig in Cairns.

This website would like to take credit for at least some of the popular forward’s off-field success, having exposed his quirky writing style to the masses when he wrote a series of blogs for afc.com.au in 2008 during the Club’s trip to Dubai.

His writing efforts on the trip went beyond the typical footballer offerings (sorry guys) and no doubt (we say) contributed to his stunning rise in the media.

Best of luck, Gilly.

Merry Christmas

And last but certainly not least, the Club would like to wish all our members and supporters a Merry Christmas and safe and Happy New Year.

Thank you for your support this season and stay tuned for more Behind Crows Doors and other exciting new features on afc.com.au in 2012.