1990s: Beginnings and premiership success History of the Adelaide Football Club

1 1990s: beginnings , premiership success

1.1 1991 season
1.2 1992 season
1.3 1993 season
1.4 1994 season
1.5 1995 season
1.6 1996 season
1.7 1997 season
1.8 1998 season
1.9 1999 season

1990s: beginnings , premiership success
1991 season

the adelaide crows played first season in afl in 1991. inaugural coach graham cornes , first captain chris mcdermott.

adelaide s first afl game against hawthorn on friday 22 march @ home ground, football park (later renamed aami stadium). crows defeated eventual premiers hefty 86-point margin, winning 24.11 (155) 9.15 (69). crows went on finish in ninth place out of 15 teams on afl ladder, 10 wins , 12 losses , percentage of 89.44.

mark mickan won club s first club champion award (later named malcolm blight medal) club s best , fairest player throughout season, tony mcguinness finishing runner-up. rod jameson club s leading goalkicker 49, while nigel smart named in afl all-australian team.

1992 season

the crows again finished in ninth place in 1992, 11-11 win-loss record , percentage of 101.36.

chris mcdermott won club champion award tony mcguinness, while scott hodges led club s goalscoring 48 goals, including haul of 11 against geelong in round 23. mcdermott, mcguinness , defender ben hart named in 1992 all-australian team.

during post-season trading period, adelaide traded in future dual premiership player matthew robran hawthorn pick 11 in national draft, receiving sydney s stuart wigney pick 71.

1993 season

adelaide finished fifth on ladder after home-and-away season in 1993, 12 wins , 8 losses , percentage of 117.83, including home record of 9 wins out of 10 @ football park. crows had defeat collingwood @ home in last match of season make top 6 , qualify, , despite conceding 6 goals 1 in first quarter did 24 points, 19.21 (135) 17.9 (111).

under mcintyre final 6 system in use, adelaide travelled play against fourth-placed hawthorn @ mcg next week, in first elimination final. nigel smart kicking 4 goals, adelaide won 16.14 (110) 13.17 (95). because sixth-placed west coast had defeated third-placed north melbourne, adelaide progressed second semi final against carlton @ waverley park, double-chance ensuring not knocked out of finals loss. crows lost carlton 18 points, 13.8 (86) 8.20 (68), , had play essendon in preliminary final, winner play carlton in grand final. whilst technically crows home game, match played @ mcg due agreement melbourne cricket club match had played @ mcg during every week of finals. against essendon, crows led 42 points @ half-time before collapsing lose 11: 17.9 (111) 14.16 (100). adelaide player mark bickley later suggested players poor performance during second half may have been caused team s lack of concentration , resolve during coach s half time address. loss ended crows season, while essendon went on defeat carlton week later , win premiership.

tony mcguinness won club champion award mark bickley, while full-forward tony modra kicked club record 129 goals season, including finals, club s leading goalkicker. modra awarded afl mark of year spectacular mark in round 8 against north melbourne @ football park. mcguinness, modra, greg anderson, ben hart , nigel smart named in all-australian team 1993. afl rising star award first awarded in 1993, mark ricciuto being nominated 28-disposal performance against richmond in round 16.

after 1993 season, adelaide traded in hawthorn s tony hall , collingwood s brett chalmers, in exchange draft picks 17 , 34, respectively.

1994 season

adelaide started 1994 season making final of pre-season knockout competition. in competition, known foster s cup, played essendon in final , lost, 15.12 (102) 9.14 (68).

in 1994, adelaide missed finals third year out of 4 in competition, finishing in 11th place 9 wins , draw 22 matches, , percentage of 86.89. adelaide s draw against st kilda @ waverley park in round 14 remains draw in afl date.

shaun rehn club s club champion in 1994 tony mcguinness finishing runner-up. tony modra kicked 70 goals finish club s leading goalscorer, while rehn , mark ricciuto both all-australians, , matthew kluzek , sean wellman achieved rising star nominations. following season, coach graham cornes sacked , replaced robert shaw, while tony mcguinness replaced chris mcdermott captain.

during off-season, adelaide secured future champion andrew mcleod in trade new club fremantle, in exchange chris groom. traded collingwood s jason mccartney draft picks 9 , 53, , west coast s matthew connell pick 44. crows recruited future premiership players peter vardy (pick 7) , tyson edwards (pick 21) in 1995 pre-season draft.

1995 season

in 1995, adelaide again made final of pre-season competition, stage known ansett cup. defeated geelong, west coast , sydney before losing north melbourne in final, 14.9 (93) 8.15 (63).

for second successive season, adelaide finished in 11th place on afl ladder, win-loss record of 9-13 , percentage of 80.08. matthew connell won club champion award andrew jarman, while tony modra again led crows goalscoring 42 goals. modra became first crow kick afl goal of year, achieving feat against richmond. no crows selected in 1995 all-australian team. martin mckinnon , andrew mcleod both nominated rising star award.

in post-season trading period, crows secured hawthorn premiership player darren jarman, brother of andrew jarman, in complicated deal saw them give national draft pick 25 hawthorn , sean wellman essendon. adelaide traded in kym koster (footscray) pick 9, troy bond (carlton) pick 63 , peter caven (sydney) paul rouvray, , drafted kane johnson (pick 27, national draft), shane ellen (pick 8, pre-season draft) , simon goodwin (pick 18, pre-season draft); become premiership players club.

1996 season

adelaide started 1996 season in form, winning first 4 matches , 6 of first eight. however, won 2 more matches season: home matches against brisbane bears , fitzroy. finished season in 12th position, 8 wins, 14 losses , percentage of 95.96. 7 of these wins @ home; away home defeated last-placed fitzroy, in round 2.

the club champion 1996 awarded matthew liptak nigel smart, while darren jarman adelaide s sole all-australian representative. no crows nominated 1996 rising star award. fourth season in row, tony modra topped adelaide s goalkicking 75. ben hart awarded afl mark of year mark against st kilda in round 8.

coach robert shaw replaced @ end of season former woodville , north melbourne player malcolm blight. blight made immediate impact upon arriving @ club, delisting captain tony mcguinness , fan favourite andrew jarman in addition retiring former captain chris mcdermott. mark bickley appointed mcguinness replacement captain.

during off-season, adelaide traded in brett james (collingwood) jonathon ross; trent ormond-allen , clay sampson (melbourne) pick 83 , nick pesch; tim cook, aaron keating , nick laidlaw (port adelaide) scott hodges , david brown; , barry standfield (footscray) picks 32 , 47. notable draftees included future premiership players andrew eccles (pick 60, national draft), chad rintoul (pick 69, national draft) , ben marsh (pick 5, rookie draft).

1997 season

1997 marked entry of second south australian club, port adelaide. lingering resentment circumstances surrounding adelaide s entry competition created healthy rivalry between teams, , clashes between them became known showdowns.

adelaide started 1997 season defeating newly formed brisbane lions (created merging of brisbane bears , fitzroy) lost 3 consecutive games, including 11-point loss port adelaide in first showdown in round 4, 11.17 (83) 11.6 (72). however, adelaide rebounded win 11 of next 15 matches, including 5 in row between rounds 7 , 11. after defeating port adelaide 7 points in round 19, adelaide top of ladder 3 matches play; however, won 1 of 3 games , qualified finals in fourth place 13-9 record.

at time mcintyre final 8 system in use, meaning crows hosted fifth-placed west coast in first elimination final. in first final ever played @ football park, crows won 14.15 (99) 9.12 (66). next week, adelaide hosted geelong, had come second lost previous week north melbourne, in second semi final, winning narrowly: 11.10 (76) 9.14 (68). set away preliminary final against western bulldogs @ mcg. despite losing coleman medallist tony modra, had kicked 84 goals season, acl injury in first quarter , trailing 31 points @ half time, crows kicked 4 unanswered goals in last quarter record two-point victory, 12.21 (93) 13.13 (91), darren jarman kicking goal put adelaide in front less 2 minutes remaining. allowed crows qualify first afl grand final, played against st kilda @ mcg week later.

st kilda, chasing second premiership in vfl/afl history, warm favourites win grand final, having come first in minor round , won both of finals margins of 46 , 31 points, against adelaide side without tony modra, mark ricciuto , goalsneak peter vardy due injury. however, crows again overcame half-time deficit, kicking 14 second-half goals win 31 points, 19.11 (125) 13.16 (94). darren jarman kicked 6 goals, 5 of came in last quarter, whilst utility shane ellen kicked career-best 5 , troy bond kicked four. andrew mcleod, gathered 31 possessions across half-back , in midfield, won norm smith medal best player on-field in grand final.

andrew mcleod crows club champion in 1997, while darren jarman runner-up. in addition winning coleman medal , being club s leading goalkicker fifth straight season, tony modra awarded afl mark of year second time, mark on goal line on mick martyn against north melbourne @ football park in round 12. modra named @ full-forward in all-australian team, while mark ricciuto named on interchange bench. kane johnson , peter vardy both achieved rising star nominations.

in post-season trading period adelaide received nathan bassett melbourne matthew collins , brent williams, mark stevens north melbourne jason mccartney , ian downsborough port adelaide brett chalmers. crows drafted lance picioane first national draft pick @ 17; play 4 afl games crows , 77 in total. other notable draftees included future premiership player james thiessen @ pick 33 , ian perrie @ pick 49. ben marsh re-drafted rookie @ pick 16.

1998 season

for second successive season, crows started in 1998, winning 3 of first 8 matches. there improved win-loss record 13-9, same previous year. did not seal place in top 8 until final round, when defeated west coast @ subiaco oval 25 points clinch fifth place. adelaide struggled throughout season win close matches; 7 of 9 losses 13 points or less, compared 3 wins corresponding margins.

the crows travelled face melbourne @ mcg in first qualifying final , defeated easily, 17.13 (115) 9.13 (67). however, highest-placed loser under mcintyre final 8 system received reprieve, , travelled scg play sydney. peter vardy kicking 6 goals, adelaide won 14.10 (94) 10.7 (67). led them, second year in row, play western bulldogs in preliminary final @ mcg. in contrast thriller took place previous year, however, crows defeated bulldogs soundly, 24.17 (161) 13.15 (93). matthew robran kicked 6 goals , andrew mcleod, opposed renowned tagger tony liberatore, booted seven.

like previous year, adelaide went grand final underdogs, playing against north melbourne, had won premiership in 1996 , had won eleven consecutive matches leading grand final. north melbourne led 24 points @ half-time, 6.15 (51) 4.3 (27), inaccurate goalkicking keeping adelaide in contest. however, had in previous year, adelaide dominated second half win 35 points, 15.15 (105) 8.22 (70). darren jarman kicked 5 goals, while andrew mcleod won second successive norm smith medal, unprecedented feat.

mark ricciuto won crows club champion award in 1998, while nigel smart runner-up. ricciuto, smart, andrew mcleod , shaun rehn named in all-australian side, while andrew eccles nominated afl rising star award. darren jarman adelaide s leading goalkicker 45. @ end of season, adelaide traded star forward tony modra fremantle, chad rintoul west coast, draft picks. in national draft, adelaide drafted future 100-game players brett burton (pick 16), tyson stenglein (pick 29) , ken mcgregor (pick 75).

1999 season

the crows made start premiership defence in 1999 4 wins in first 6 rounds, before struggling rest of season, winning 4 more games. finished 13th 8-14 win-loss record, lowest ever finish @ time, , lowest finish reigning premier in vfl/afl history.

malcolm blight resigned coach @ end of season, replaced gary ayres, while popular defender (and inaugural leading goalkicker) rod jameson played final game in adelaide s round 22 loss kangaroos (newly renamed north melbourne). crows club champion award, renamed malcolm blight medal in blight s honour, won ben hart andrew mcleod. hart adelaide s all-australian representative. david gallagher , brett burton both received afl rising star nominations, while darren jarman led adelaide s goalkicking second consecutive year 58 goals.

in off-season, adelaide traded brisbane lions ruckman matthew clarke, giving picks 6 , 21, , kangaroos scott welsh pick 77, while trading lance picioane hawthorn pick 79. future stars rhett biglands (pick 36) , robert shirley (pick 67) drafted in 1999 national draft, , michael doughty club s first rookie selection @ pick 4.