Adelaide Crows chief executive officer Steven Trigg speaks to the press. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: adelaidenow
ADELAIDE is preparing a list of potential key witnesses to fly to Melbourne for its defence of 11 charges of salary cap breaches and draft tampering.
Witnesses will be allowed in for the Monday hearing before the AFL commission, which will consider charges laid against the club, chief executive Steven Trigg, football operations manager Phil Harper, former football operations manager John Reid and player Kurt Tippett.
It is understood the club is in meetings to consider how best to construct a chronology that supports their defence.
The AFL confirmed witnesses would be allowed provided the commission was notified and they were relevant to the charges.
The club was tight-lipped yesterday, other than to release a statement to key stakeholders that said in part: "We look forward to the hearing next Monday and then being able to explain directly to you and all our members, sponsors and supporters exactly what happened, why it happened and how it happened."
The statement was co-signed by chairman Rob Chapman and Trigg.
Adelaide is currently sorting through its list of witnesses to key events during the Tippett crisis, which has left the club under threat of being excluded for the draft for up to four years and handed heavy fines.
Law firm Kelly & Co's Peter Campbell said witnesses of fact were a priority.
"You'd think it's people that can either corroborate a version of the facts or dispute it," Campbell said.
"If the AFL has put forward a particular version and they (the Crows) want to bring people across to say that that's not how it happened, and that's why there can't be any penalties or fines on that, that would be the most likely."
Sticking points are expected to be who was present at important meetings, who put the pressure on whom to orchestrate a deal and when key people became privy to the matter.
The battle is likely to be over which party can best prove its version of events as the most accurate.
There are expected to be several versions.
"They'll try to construct a whole factual chronology of it," Campbell said. "And I assume they'll bring witnesses up to back that up."
Monday's hearing is expected to spill into Tuesday. Cross-examination is expected to be intense, with both Tippett and the Crows hiring high-profile silks to mount their case.
Tippett has retained prominent QC David Galbally, who has vast experience in AFL matters.
The Crows hired David Edwardson QC, who successfully defended Perth barrister Lloyd Rayney in one of the most high-profile cases in Western Australia's history.
The Advertiser reported Edwardson had also represented hit-run lawyer Eugene McGee, but to clarify, he acted only temporarily for McGee around the time of his arrest.
Jeff Gleeson SC will represent the AFL.
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