Today we turn back 20 years to see what was in the headlines about the new Adelaide Football Club.

December 14 1990: The Advertiser headline screamed “Crows face player revolt” and reported that North Adelaide captain Darel Hart could be the first of many senior players to walk away from the Club. The issue of player contracts and payments was, according to the report, threatening “to explode”. A group of players were said to be disgruntled about receiving no compensation for training and only 13 of the 62-man training squad had been told how much they would be paid in the Crows’ first season. 1990 Magarey Medallist Scott Hodges had already pulled out of pre-season training.

Lawrie McCauley wrote: “It is an enormous problem for Adelaide officials. They must get the best players on the track if the side is to be successful. They cannot ignore the talent of Darel Hart or Scott Hodges.

And in The News, Neville Roberts wrote: “It is naive to expect professional sportspeople in 1991, about to compete at a national level, to work for nothing.”
Adelaide’s final list of 52 needed to fit within the AFL’s salary cap of $1.5 million.

Next year the Adelaide Football Club celebrates the 20th anniversary of its first AFL game for premiership points when it plays Hawthorn in the opening round - two decades after the Crows thumped Hawthorn by 86 points at Football Park.

For the next few months www.afc.com.au will run a regular feature highlighting the main footy news events from 20 years ago.