Adelaide blasted for CEO's 'ridiculous' apology after Crows star makes brutally honest assessment about lacklustre Sydney Swans

Daily Mail​

01-06-2025

Adelaide CEO Tim Silvers has reportedly issued a formal apology to Sydney boss Tom Harley after Crows defender Wayne Milera branded the Swans 'a bit of a rabble'.
But his move to apologise to the Swans CEO has split opinion among some former stars, with one branding the apology 'ridiculous'.
The Swans endured a night to forget at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, suffering a 90-point loss by Matthew Nicks' side, who are shaping up to be a firm finals contender this season.
The Swans, meanwhile, have slumped to 14th in the ladder, 12 points clear of the top eight, with last year's Grand Finalists having lost eight of their opening matches this season.
They will no doubt receive some harsh home truths from coach Dean Cox, following the defeat.
Milera told ABC after the game that the Swans were a shade of themselves during the match.
'You could sort of feel it as a group... they were sort of a bit of a rabble, just hearing them on the ground,' the 27-year-old footy star said.
While that appeared to be his own personal view on the matter, it appears the Crows were not impressed by his comments. Silvers subsequently issued a formal apology to the Swans.
But the move has split opinion among some pundits.
Campbell Brown told Sunday Footy Feast: 'God forbid you are too honest in an interview.'
The former Hawthorn star then said that the apology made the Crows 'look like the rabble': 'That's such weak leadership as far as I'm concerned.
'Do you know who the rabble is now? Adelaide for having to come out and apologise.'
Kate McCarthy, an AFLW All-Australian concurred: 'The fact they've basically undermined their own player there to come out — yes, they've obviously had a conversation — but that did not need to be apologised for,' she said.
'We want that from players. He didn't at any point make that personal. They were unorganised, they were a rabble — I think Sydney would have almost admitted that.
'That is absolutely ridiculous.'
But not everyone was in support of Milera's candid claims.
But Footy great Jack Riewoldt did not agree, arguing that the Crows defender had disrespected the opposition side.
'One hundred per cent that's disrespectful (from Milera). Yeah, calling an opposition team 'a bit of a rabble' in a media sense,' Riewoldt told Fox Footy.
'We've just come off the conversation with Matthew Nicks about they dropped Josh Rachele (last year) for 'values'. I'd love to know where a comment like that sits in the values of the Adelaide Football Club.
'So, there's clearly some big questions on that going forward, too.'
Sydney are now set to receive some harsh home truths led by Dean Cox after an 'embarrassing' 90-point loss to Adelaide left the coach questioning whether he's been doing enough at the helm.
And even he issued a scathing assessment of his side's performance, branding it 'unacceptable and embarrassing'.
The Swans had been looking to bounce back from a dismal 53-point loss to Melbourne.
A victory would have seen them celebrate the 20th anniversary of their 2005 premiership victory in style.
Instead, they endured a horror show.
Kept to one goal in the opening half, Sydney conceded a staggering 12-straight majors on the way to a 21.5 (131) to 5.11 (41) loss.
The Swans' finals are now looking very slim chances are slim, and the frustration on Cox's face during his post-match press conference was evident.
A reminder of the team-first ethos that netted the club's first premiership in 72 years, given at half-time with a lap of honour by the 2005 side, only compounded their woes.
'I didn't expect that on such a massive night for the footy club when you have a 20-year reunion for a team that played desperate, uncompromising, ruthless football,' Cox said.
'That was far from it.'
West Coast great Cox is no stranger to Sydney's Bloods ethos, with the six-time All-Australian ruck's last-gasp kick famously marked by Leo Barry in the final seconds of the low-scoring 2005 grand final.
But the first-year coach conceded he was left questioning if he had done enough.
'Yeah, maybe not,' Cox said.
'That's where you've got to reflect on everything within the program, and it starts with me.
'We are going to fight our way through this.
'And there's going to be no easy way through it. I said to them (the players), expect some tough sessions. That'll happen.'
The statistics sheet will suggest an even contest between the two sides, with Sydney winning clearances (+13), stoppage clearances (+13) and contested possessions (+11).
But Sydney crumbled under Adelaide's pressure, making uncharacteristic errors and giving away costly penalties with moments of ill-discipline.
'The impact that they (Adelaide) had with their contested ball was far superior than ours,' Cox said.
'We'd fumble, get it to the next one, we might take it, then we'd handball or cough it up, then we'd go again.
'Whereas they were just a one-two punch, 'See you later, we're out of here'.
'Part of it comes to confidence when you are inconsistent, but the number one thing that brings consistency is, you spend time on your game.
'You know exactly when you finish the week and you start, I'm confident in my ability because I've done the work - that's the only way you build confidence.
'That's something that I've certainly got to drive harder and I'm going to.'
Sydney will face 16th-placed Richmond before they head into their mid-season bye, while third-placed Adelaide play Brisbane.