Adelaide Football Club

History

1990s: Foundation and back-to-back triumph

After the VFL was renamed the AFL for the 1990 season, the SANFL clubs unanimously resolved, in 1990, that a team would not be entered into the AFL until 1992. The AFL refused to accept this, and revised negotiations with individual clubs Port Adelaide and Norwood. Two months later, the Port Adelaide Football Club reached terms of agreement with the AFL to enter a team into its competition in season 1991. The other nine SANFL clubs reacted strongly and entered into litigation in an endeavour to halt Port's bid. As the terms offered were more favourable than previously offered, talks were resumed. On 19 September 1990, the AFL approved the bid for a new South Australian club to enter into the league rather than a single existing SANFL club.

The Adelaide Crows played their first season in the AFL in 1991. Inaugural coach Graham Cornes and captain Chris McDermott led Adelaide to a respectable ninth place out of 15 in the league, with 10 wins and 12 losses and a percentage of 89.44. Adelaide's first AFL game was against Hawthorn on Friday 22 March at their then home ground, Football Park. The Crows defeated the eventual premiers by a hefty 86-point margin, winning 24.11 (155) to 9.15 (69).

The 1992 preseason saw Nigel Smart get his feet burned in an infamous firewalking incident (that he had suggested in the first place). Smart was nicknamed "Not So" after the incident. Adelaide would again finish 9th place, this time with 11 wins and 11 losses and a percentage of 101.4.

The club reached its first finals series in the 1993 AFL season, eventually losing to Essendon in the preliminary final.

The year 1997 marked the entry of a second South Australian club, Port Adelaide. The Crows finished fourth to qualify for its first finals series since 1993, and hosted fifth-placed West Coast in the First Elimination Final. In the first final ever to be played at Football Park, the Crows won 14.15 (99) to 9.12 (66). The next week, Adelaide benefited from the finals system in use at the time and hosted the higher ranked Geelong, who had finished two places above the Crows but were forced to play away due to losing the previous week to North Melbourne. The Crows won narrowly in a controversial match, where a clear forward 50 mark to Geelong's Leigh Colbert during a critical stage of the third quarter was not awarded by field umpire Grant Vernon, with the game concluding with the final scores as Adelaide 11.10 (76) to Geelong's 9.14 (68). This set up an away Preliminary Final against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. Despite losing Coleman Medallist Tony Modra, who had kicked 84 goals for the season, to an ACL injury in the first quarter and trailing by 31 points at half time, the Crows kicked four unanswered goals in the last quarter to record a two-point victory, 12.21 (93) to 13.13 (91). Darren Jarman kicked a goal to put Adelaide in front with less than two minutes remaining, this qualified the Crows for their first AFL Grand Final, to be played against St Kilda at the MCG a week later.

2000s: Finals and near misses

The Crows next made the finals in 2001 AFL season, though they lost their opening three matches for the season. Adelaide played fifth-placed Carlton at the MCG in the First Elimination Final and were roundly defeated, 17.16 (118) to 6.14 (50). High-profile forward Darren Jarman announced his retirement after the match. Adelaide's impressive 2002 AFL season (in which they achieved a 15–7 win–loss record) came undone at the penultimate stage, losing to Collingwood in the Preliminary Final at the MCG. Ben Hart won his second Malcolm Blight Medal in 2002, with Tyson Edwards finishing runner-up. Brett Burton led the Crows' goalkickers with 51. Hart and Mark Ricciuto were both named as All-Australians. Adelaide then exacted some revenge by defeating Collingwood in the pre-season competition in 2003, the club's first win in that competition. The Crows' impressive 2003 season was eventually halted by the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba in the semi-finals. That season, Adelaide captain Mark Ricciuto became the first and (as of 2024) only Crow to win the Brownlow Medal for the best and fairest player in the AFL in a three-way tie with Adam Goodes and Nathan Buckley. The Crows returned to finals in 2005 and recorded a famous win in what remains the only Showdown match against rivals Port Adelaide in the semi-finals. They then lost once more at the penultimate stage (preliminary final), to the West Coast Eagles at Subiaco Oval by 16 points. This was repeated in 2006 when they again lost to West Coast in the preliminary final, this time at home and by an even smaller margin of 10 points.

Adelaide would qualify for finals for each of the remaining seasons in the 2000s, falling short at the elimination or semi-final on each occasion. Collingwood proved to be the biggest hurdle, knocking the Crows out of the finals race successively in 2008 and 2009. Andrew McLeod and Bernie Vince won the club's best and fairest awards in that time.

Adelaide's finals runs in the 2000s

2010s: Rebuilding and tragedy

The Crows had their biggest rebrand in the club's history on the eve of the 2010 season, shifting their logo to an entirely new design. Adelaide had a disastrous start to the 2010 season, losing their first six matches of the home and away season. They did recover to some extent in the back half of the year, finishing 11th with nine wins and thirteen losses, the first time under coach Neil Craig that the team did not make the finals. The season marked a turning point, with the likes of McLeod, Simon Goodwin and fellow stars Brett Burton, Tyson Edwards and Trent Hentschel all announcing their retirements during the season. Long-term defender and club stalwart Nathan Bock announced he was leaving the club to join new side Gold Coast. These changes led to a disastrous 2011 campaign, which became the worst season in the club's history to that point. After a 103-point loss to fading champions St Kilda, the club's longest-serving coach Neil Craig stepped down, handing the reins to assistant coach and former premiership captain Mark Bickley as caretaker for the remainder of the season.

Under Bickley the club won three of their next four games, but lost their final two to Richmond and West Coast, finishing in 14th place with 7 wins and 15 losses. Scott Thompson won the Malcolm Blight Medal (best and fairest award) for the season. New coach Brenton Sanderson began his era at the club with a pre-season premiership in 2012 and followed up that success with an above-expectations regular season; the Crows finishing 17-5 and never once losing consecutive matches. Adelaide eventually qualified to face minor premiers Hawthorn at the MCG in the First Preliminary Final. Hawthorn led for most of the match and despite Adelaide taking the lead with five minutes remaining, the Hawks responded to win the match by five points, in yet another heart-breaking finals series loss for the Crows. Adelaide would then fall down the ladder in the following 2013 and 2014 seasons, narrowly missing the top 8 on both occasions. Failing to reach the finals led to Sanderson being sacked at the end of the 2014 season. The club would move its home matches to the newly redeveloped Adelaide Oval at the start of the 2014 season, though to this day the Crows retain their training and administrative headquarters at their old home stadium, Football Park.

At the end of 2012, it was revealed that Adelaide had been found guilty of breaching the salary cap and tampering with the draft. As a sign of cooperation with the AFL, Adelaide forfeited themselves from the first two rounds of the 2012 draft. At a hearing at AFL House in Melbourne, both the Adelaide Crows and CEO at the time, Steven Trigg, were fined $300,000 and $50,000 respectively. The Adelaide Football Club were also suspended from participating in the first two rounds of the 2013 draft. It's widely accepted to be the league's biggest salary cap and list management scandal since Carlton in 2002.

2020–present: Matthew Nicks era

Former Port Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney assistant coach Matthew Nicks was appointed as Adelaide's senior coach on 15 October 2019, replacing the outgoing Pyke. Under new coach Nicks, the Crows lost the first 13 matches of the coronavirus-affected 2020 AFL season and ultimately claimed their first wooden spoon in club history. However, the Crows' disastrous season did end with some optimism, as the Crows broke the drought in round 15 against Hawthorn and won three matches in a row towards the season's conclusion. The Crows received their highest-ever draft pick at the 2020 AFL draft, used to draft Riley Thilthorpe.

The Crows won their first game of the 2021 AFL season, beating the reigning Grand Finalists Geelong in an upset victory. The Crows improved slightly over their disastrous 2020 campaign, losing only one of their first four games. Walker was banned from the AFL for six games between the 2021 and 2022 AFL seasons due to racist comments directed towards Robbie Young of North Adelaide during a SANFL match. After requesting a move home to South Australia and subsequently nominating the Crows, high-value Sydney wingman Jordan Dawson was traded to Adelaide in the 2021 trade period. The trade would prove influential in Adelaide's rise out of the bottom four in 2022.

The Crows hosted the first-ever Friday night Showdown in Round 3, and claimed one of their best-ever wins via an after-the-siren bending kick from the recruit Dawson, who received best-on-ground honours. Captain Rory Sloane ruptured his ACL in round 5. In his absence, the role of captain rotated between Reilly O'Brien, Ben Keays, Brodie Smith, and Tom Doedee for the remainder of the season. Adelaide traded in Izak Rankine at a high price, leaving them no first-round draft picks in the 2022 AFL draft until they matched the bid for Max Michalanney, son of Jim as the club's first father–son pick.

The Crows headlined the first-ever Gather Round, as they had a return to form, defeating multiple top-eight teams. Some controversial finishes, including one in round 23 against Sydney, when a Ben Keays goal was mistakenly disallowed, cost the Crows their first AFL finals series in seven years. Adelaide finished 2023 in 10th on the ladder, their best position since 2017, in part due to the leadership of their new captain Jordan Dawson. Despite high expectations, 2024 was another disappointing year for the club, with a lack of on-field performance resulting in questions being raised around Nicks' coaching, particularly amid the choice to drop young forward Josh Rachele. The club rocketed up the ladder in the 2025 season, going on a nine-game winning streak in the back half of the season to finish in first and claim the club's third minor premiership. Despite this, the Crows were eliminated from the finals series after home losses to Collingwood and Hawthorn, becoming the first minor premier to suffer a straight-sets finals exit since 1983.

Club symbols

Nickname and mascot

The club is nicknamed the Crows in reference to "croweaters", an affectionate colloquial term for South Australians.

The official club mascot, Claude "Curls" Crow, is named after South Australian football legend Neil Kerley.

Guernsey

Adelaide currently has three guernsey designs which are used in different matches throughout the season. The club's guernseys are currently supplied by Irish sportswear company O'Neills.

The home guernsey features navy blue, red and gold hoops. It is worn at all matches designated as home games for the club as well as in selected away games (currently only Geelong, Port Adelaide, Western Bulldogs, and Sydney). The jumper is worn with navy shorts at all home and away games, except for away Showdowns, where it is paired with white shorts. It has had only minor variations through its history since debuting with the club in 1991, including adding a white outline to the numbers from 1996 to 2020 which has now been removed since the start of the 2021 season, and the removal of yellow cuffs and addition of navy blue panels down the sides (due to manufacturers template design) in 2006. In 2009 the yellow cuffs and full hoops returned. In 2010 the hoops were cut off again at the sides. For 2016, the club removed the side panels, returning to the full hoops of the original design. The original base design/idea has never changed in the club's 30-year history.

Adelaide's clash guernseys have historically used red or yellow bases, so that it will not clash with other team's guernseys in cases where the blue-based home guernsey is not appropriate. 2025's clash guernsey is predominantly red with singular yellow and blue stripes across the middle. Paired with white shorts, the clash guernsey features the club's new logo across the chest with a yellow outline.

The club's Indigenous guernsey has been a rotating design since it was first introduced in during the 2013 season vs. North Melbourne. The first iteration of the Adelaide Indigenous guernsey was a simple swap from Navy to Black, representing the colours in the Australian Aboriginal flag. Since 2014 however, they guernsey has featured art on a navy base from a wide number of indigenous artists and past players, such as Andrew McLeod and Ben Davis. The 2023 edition of these guernseys was the first to be shared between the women's and the men's teams.

The club wore their first commemorative ANZAC guernsey in 2024. The guernsey features the chevrons of the sergeant rank insignia of the Australian Army, and a soldier with a bugle. It marks a new design trend not before seen in Adelaide's guernseys, with chevrons used rather than the traditional hoops, and the use of a gradient. The guernsey was worn in round 7 against North Melbourne. The proceeds of the auctioned player-issue guernseys will be donated to the RSL.

Club song

The club song of the Adelaide Football Club is "The Pride of South Australia", and is sung to the tune of US Marines Hymn. The lyrics to "The Pride of South Australia" were written by the inaugural CEO Bill Sanders.

The first club song, and the song used in the club's inaugural AFL game and victory against Hawthorn, was "Here We Go Camry Crows".

Headquarters and training facilities

Since inception in late 1990, Adelaide's training and administrative facilities have been located at Football Park in West Lakes. The club held their first training session at the ground on 29 October 1990. Initially the club's offices were restricted to small space under the SANFL members' grandstand, before being moved to a new brick building at the southern end of the stadium in 1992. Between 1993 and 1995 a $2.3 million player and training facility was constructed behind the eastern grandstands, featuring several sports training facilities described at the time as “the best in the league”. Additional offices were constructed at the northern end of the ground, and a $21 million renovation was concluded in 2009, which featured a 2500sq metre “Shed” for gatherings of fans and members, and upgrades to the indoor training and administrative facilities. When Football Park stopped hosting premiership matches at the end of the 2013 season, the grandstands were progressively torn down and the club's game-day facilities were merged with the administration offices, whilst the general public were granted access to the oval outside of Crows' training sessions.

In 2024, following prolonged negotiations with the local council and SANFL, the Adelaide Football Club announced it would move its training and administrative headquarters to an upgraded Thebarton Oval, which will feature a 150m, two-storey wrap-around building and upgraded grandstands and new facilities for the club's AFL, AFLW and SANFL teams.

Club teams

AFL Women's team

The Adelaide AFLW team is the club's women's team in the AFL Women's league. A founding member of the AFLW, the football club launched a bid to enter a team in the 2017 AFL Women's season in April 2016. The bid was constructed in partnership with AFL Northern Territory, with the club to share resources and facilities between its Adelaide base and AFLNT's Darwin location. The bid became a success in June of that year when the league announced they had been awarded one of eight inaugural licences.

Under inaugural coach Bec Goddard, the team won the first ever AFLW premiership in 2017. The season was also a highlight for individual success, with co-captain Erin Phillips winning the league most valuable player and best on ground in the grand final. Missing the finals in 2018, Goddard quit as coach and was replaced by Matthew Clarke for the 2019 season. Winning six out of the seven home-and-away games, the club returned to finals and won its second premiership with a 45-point win against Carlton. Erin Phillips repeated her individual success by winning the league MVP for the second time and the grand final best on ground despite leaving the ground injured in the third quarter. It was announced in August 2019 that the partnership between Adelaide and AFLNT would not continue. During the COVID-19-interrupted 2020 season, the Crows slumped to only two wins and failed to reach the finals. The club quickly rose back up the following year and won seven of nine home-and-away matches, and they claimed the minor premiership for the 2021 season before going down to Brisbane by 18 points in the 2021 grand final. Adelaide bounced back the next year to win the 2022 AFL Women's season 6 Grand Final by 13 points, earning their third premiership, the most of any club in the league.

In 2022, AFL rivals Port Adelaide were introduced into the women's competition. The two teams met in the first-ever AFLW Showdown on the 30th of September. The occasion drew in a crowd of 20,652 at Adelaide Oval, which was the highest attendance for any game in 2022 season 7. Following their historic back-to-back premierships, Adelaide had consecutive preliminary final exits in season 7 and 2023, with loses to eventual runners-up Brisbane and North Melbourne respectively. Despite this, Adelaide finished 1st in the 2023 home-and-away season, becoming the first team to achieve this on four occasions. Ebony Marinoff and Sarah Allan became the club's new co-captains in 2024. Another top-four finish ended in a bittersweet manner, as the Crows lost to both eventual grand finalists Brisbane and North Melbourne, but Marinoff was crowned the league's best and fairest.

SANFL team

The Adelaide Crows were granted a licence to field a stand-alone reserves men's team in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) in 2014. Prior to this date AFL-listed players at the club were drafted to SANFL clubs, and would play for them when not selected for the AFL team. A fairly unsuccessful history thus far, the Crows finished last in 2018 but have appeared in four preliminary finals. Ruckman Kieran Strachan has won the most best and fairest awards, with three to his name.

Rivalries

Adelaide has a fierce rivalry with fellow South Australian AFL team Port Adelaide. Matches between the two teams are known as the Showdown. The Showdown rivalry significantly draws upon the bitter, winner take all, competition for the two South Australian licences to join the AFL in the 1980s and early 1990s. The Showdown is often considered the best, and most bitter, in the Australian Football League with Malcolm Blight, Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend, stating in 2009 that "there is no doubt it is the greatest rivalry in football".

Membership base and sponsorship

In 2006, the club made history becoming the first club in VFL/AFL history to have more than 50,000 members (with 50,138). They broke that record in 2007, signing up 50,146 members after only round one of the season. The club failed to continue this record run and subsequently signed 48,720 members in 2008, barely maintaining their pole position, before slipping to 45,515 in 2010; however, the trend reversed and later breached all-time highs in 2014 when they signed 54,249, although five other clubs had surpassed their membership base by this point, with Collingwood leading with nearly 80,000 members by this point. Adelaide's membership peaked for the 2019 season with 64,437, and their 2022 membership was 63,009.

The club has enjoyed a long-standing partnership with Toyota since its inception, leading the club to be known in promotional materials as the "Camry Crows".

Two-time Grand Slam tennis champion Lleyton Hewitt was made the club's number-one ticket holder in December 2002. International pop singer Guy Sebastian became the number-one ticket holder in April 2024. Former federal politician Kate Ellis is the number-one female ticket holder, while Greg Champion, a musician and radio broadcaster, is the Melbourne number-one ticket holder. Australian golfer Adam Scott is also an honorary member of the club.

Honours and records

Hall of Fame

The Adelaide Football Club established their Hall of Fame in 2015, for its 25th year in the AFL. It honours the greatest contributors to the club and specifically includes members who have made a "profound" impact. 18 members have been inducted, including 12 AFL players, one AFLW player, three administrators, the interim board, and a coach.

"Team of the Decade"

While some sides named their "Team of the Century" to coincide with the AFL centenary celebrations in 1996, Adelaide only joined the league in 1991, and so later on named their "Team of the Decade", covering the period from 1991 to 2000. As well as earning selection in the team, Mark Ricciuto was named 'Player of the Decade' and Mark Bickley 'Team Man of the Decade.'

Player achievements

All-Australians

An All-Australian team is considered a "best-of" selection of players for each calendar year, with each player represented in their team position. Captains and vice-captains, indicated with (c) and (vc) respectively, are awarded to players who displayed leadership and excellence on the field during the season. Each team is selected by a panel of experts.

AFL Men

AFL Women