Football always throws up challenges. Some expected. Some not so.  It is has been a year of unique challenges right across the football industry.

While none compare to what the Adelaide Crows have gone through this year - our club has had its share of challenges. On – but particularly off the field.

We are proud of all of our players. Proud of what they stand for. And proud of how they represent our Club.

To those keyboard warriors out there who hide behind their computers to attack players, or those who choose to hide their spiteful voices amongst the crowd. To all those who shamefully kick players when they are down or vulnerable – before you act next time, please ask yourself – if this was my son, or my brother, or partner this abuse was being directed to – would it change they way I’m about to act?

We will acknowledge Adam Goodes later on this evening. But I speak for everyone in this room, and many, many more in the football community when I say how proud of him we are. His leadership at this club and beyond is the mark and legacy of a champion.  

While Lance Franklin can’t be with us tonight – our club – and everyone who is part of this red and white family - continue to support him. He will back….Better….for facing and overcoming his own challenges.

I would like to acknowledge some people who are leaving the Club.

A big thank you to Ben Moore. Benny has worked for seven years at our club – and in the early days he virtually worked full time for nothing. Ben’s assistance and advice over the years has been invaluable. He and his partner Anna and son Teddy move back to England at the end of the year.

Thanks also to Marty Mattner. Marty’s tackle in the 2012 Grand Final will be forever etched in my memory. Marty’s six years as a player and two years as a coach underlies his significant contribution to this club. We wish him, Chelsea, and Oscar all the best in the future.

Damien Austin is another who has worked very hard in the preparation of our players – he leaves to take up the position of Head Of Conditioning at the Brisbane Lions. We wish you well Damo.

And Jetts, whilst you haven’t gone officially yet, on behalf of every supporter, every staff member, and every player, we will bloody miss you. We’ll miss your smile, we’ll miss the times you used to pop out of a rubbish bin full of balls and scare the hell out of us, we’ll miss your runs down the wing, and we’ll miss Jess and the kids. Although I won’t miss the times I used to walk into the sticky tape that was placed at just my height across the doorways!

There are probably two views on our 2015 season.

If your glass is half empty: we didn’t make the Grand Final and had our lowest finish for four years. Therefore we failed.

If your glass is half full: we won 16 games. One game off the highest total we have ever won in a home and away season. We earned a double chance and despite challenges– we were just 9 points off advancing straight into a home preliminary final.

As a coach – I sit somewhere in the middle.

If people want to challenge and question us for not meeting high expectations – then that is something we embrace. I reflect on a quote from University of Alabama coach Nick Saban who said “I’d rather have the expectations of winning - than no expectations at all!”

There were games throughout the season that we simply should not have lost. There were also games when we should have driven our advantage home more ruthlessly. And definitely one or two games where we would have liked to have hung in there a bit better.

This consistency of performance was our gap. At the end of a season we don’t want to talk about ifs, buts and maybes.  Regardless of who plays or who doesn’t, we want to say that we controlled our own destiny. Where we finish on the ladder, or how we finish off our last game each season, is completely dependent on us, and nobody else. It’s about consistency of standards – as an individual, and as a team.

We did continue to move forward with the development of some of the younger players on our list. Our aim as a club is to continue to play a competitive brand of finals football, whilst blending in the next generation of consistent performers to our team. Nobody can deny we’ve lost some champions of this club, and we acknowledge they are never easy to replace.  However, this year we had four players make their finals debut, and these players will be better for experiencing the heat of playing in an away final. Out of the 8 finals teams, we had 7 players who had played 50 games or less - the 2^nd  highest number, only the Western Bulldogs had more. Another 3 players debuted during the year, and learned what competing at the highest level was all about.  Some might say our younger players have big shoes to fill. My message to those players is not to worry about filling someone else’s big shoes. Wear your own. Just like Adam Goodes and Rhyce Shaw have done before you.

The reality is I was sitting there watching the National Anthem being sung at the Preliminary Finals games, and it hit me – this is the first time in 4 years that we haven’t been playing.  Given a couple of text messages that I received during the game I know that a number of our players were thinking the same thing. We are all hungry to return to that stage and beyond.

Our post –season analysis has focused on what we need to do to improve. We’ve also looked at ourselves as coaches, and I’m pleased to confirm that Brett Kirk and Rhyce Shaw will be added to our coaching panel in 2016.

Thank you to our board, management, staff, and playing group for your continued support and efforts throughout the year. Thank you also to the wives and partners of everyone involved, for everything you do. And thanks for the invaluable support we receive from our corporate partners, our record number of members, and our supporters who continue to flood our games with the red and white.

Following our last game, and during our post season interviews, we highlighted to our players some of the areas we need to improve. During the off-season, each player should reflect on how best you can contribute to the team’s success. What will you do to drive the standards required at the highest level?

Tomorrow our players begin a well earned rest.

Enjoy it boys. Come November 23, we all start equal again. And those who have prepared the best, who show the most resilience, and drive each other the most, will survive the marathon that will be the 2016 season.

Every step you run, every weight you lift, every sacrifice you make, is worth it ten times over. 

Embrace the challenge.