Trigg must exit if charges proven

Adelaide Crows chief executive Steven Trigg in under increasing pressure. Picture: Sarah Reed. Source: The Advertiser

EMBATTLED Crows chief executive Steven Trigg is under increasing pressure, with a leading AFL administrator and former Adelaide players saying his head should be on the block.

The administrator - speaking on the condition of anonymity - and ex-Crows Andrew Jarman and Wayne Weidemann say if Trigg is found guilty of serious salary cap rorting in the Kurt Tippett scandal he has little choice but to walk away from the club.

"If Steven is found guilty of the charges against him - and at this stage it is an `if' - then he should walk," Jarman said.

"The club's image has taken a massive hit, our brand has been trashed and the club's credibility, which has been built up over 22 years, is gone.

"Someone has to be thrown under the bus for the mess and it has to be the public face of the club, who is Steven.

"If he is found guilty of all charges he should put the club before himself and his career and take the hit for what has become a public relations disaster.

"If another business in the corporate world found itself in this type of mess, the main man would certainly go."

Weidemann said he hoped Trigg would be cleared of any wrongdoing, saying he had been an outstanding servant for the club.

But he said if there was proven to be a major administrational bungle, Trigg loomed as the man on the hot seat.

"It's a hard one because Steven has done so many fantastic things for the club," Weidemann said.

"He's been very good for the Crows and led from the front on so many issues.

"But the squeaky clean image of the club has taken a big hit and if the charges laid against him on Monday are proven then he will find himself in trouble.

"There will probably be a fall guy in all of this and it could very well be Steven."

The administrator said Adelaide could pay a heavy price for its "arrogance".

He said if the Crows are found guilty of salary cap rorting and draft tampering then heads should roll.

The only fall guy so far is first-year utility Nick Joyce, who was delisted on Thursday to clear the clubs decks for the draft.

There will probably be a fall guy in all of this and it could very well be Steven

Joyce would not have been delisted if Adelaide had been allowed to move Tippett, who is stuck on the Crows' playing list until the AFL makes its decisions on what penalties, if any, the club will be hit with.

The administrator - from a rival AFL club - believes the league will come down hard on the Crows. He is predicting the loss of a host of draft picks and a fine of about $500,000, some of which could be suspended.

And he said Trigg, as chief executive, should fall on his sword as a result.

"The buck must stop with the chief executive," the official said.

"He is front and centre of the whole mess and to me, the fact the Crows find themselves in such trouble, comes down to some stupidity and arrogance.

"They have played with fire and have been burned as a result."

Adelaide football manager Phil Harper and former football operations chief John Reid also face charges of engaging in conduct in breach of the total player payments provisions.

Reid has a second charge of engaging in conduct prejudicial to the draft three years ago, when the controversial Tippett deal was struck. There is conjecture Trigg and Harper deceived the Adelaide board as well as the AFL.

Former St Kilda coach Grant Thomas also has called for Trigg to fall on his sword. He accused Trigg of double standards after sacking former Crows recruiting manager Matt Rendell over a racism row.

"I find it very interesting that Steven Trigg cited standards, morals and ethics to oust Matt Rendell when in the back of his mind he must have been aware of his own alleged shenanigans," Thomas said.

The scandal may continue for several weeks with the Crows yesterday gaining an adjournment to Monday's scheduled AFL Commission meeting on charges under the AFL Player Rules.

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