AFL Media’s chief correspondent Damian Barrett says it’s “time to go” for Mark Ricciuto from his role at the Adelaide football club.
Ricciuto, the club’s footy director, has seen his position at the Crows under increasing pressure since the release of Eddie Betts’ autobiography, The Boy From Boomerang Crescent.
Josh Jenkins and Bryce Gibbs have also provided damning accounts of the club’s 2018 pre-season camp of which Ricciuto had oversight for as footy director at the time.
Barrett admitted he’d heard good things about Ricciuto’s character, but suggested the club needed a “fresh approach” without him.
“He’s been very aggressive in targeting the individuals concerned in the whole reporting of this story, and there’s a Glenn Archer element to his time (on the board),” Barrett told The Sounding Board podcast.
“(He’s an) all-time great footballer for the club. (But) I question the role and effect and manners of the role as a director of the football club and I would have thought his time at the club as a result of this, after a long time at the club with other questionable decisions, might be up.
“Time to go… time for a fresh look, a fresh approach, and certainly a different, maybe more empathetic approach to the director role at that footy club.
“I’m not one to call for people to stand down, and this is an honorary job anyway, so he’s not going to lose any wages out of the role.”
Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers apologized to Betts last Wednesday, but in a sign that perhaps the club is committed to betterment, Silvers and chairman John Silvers penned an open letter on Monday.
“The most important thing we can do now is listen and offer our support,” the statement read while apologizing to those affected by the camp.
John Olsen and Tim Silvers have penned an open letter to AFC Members and supporters.
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) August 8, 2022
Ricciuto offered an apology of sorts on his radio show on Triple M Adelaide last Wednesday, but drew criticism for appearing to try and move on just hours after the release of Betts’ biography.
Respected SEN broadcaster Gerard Whateley is another who has commented on Ricciuto’s tenability, indirectly calling for him to be removed from his position or to resign.
However, reports from Monday suggested the club legend was “determined” to hold onto his role.
The Sounding Board co-host Craig Hutchison shared Barrett’s sentiment, adding that Ricciuto’s term as director hadn’t been an overly successful one.
“(Ace a) footballer, 100/100. (As a) businessman, exceptional, very influential businessman, made a lot of money and makes good decisions,” Hutchison said.
“(As a) person, great person. (But as a) footy director and his ability to manage that in media, substandard. He hasn’t had a great off-field impact as a director on that club and his ability to manage that conflict with his morning radio has been poor.
“It creates a problem every time (on the radio). He spoke for 68 seconds last Wednesday and was seen to be brushing it off or wanting to move on, and it just made it worse.”
.