Inside the Crows BnF: Jordan Dawson’s ‘weird, sick’ admission, Tex steals the show

The Crows skipper created history by becoming the first player in club history to win three straight Malcolm Blight Medals on Saturday night at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Walker’s long-awaited one-year contract extension was also announced, while the retiring Brodie Smith and Matt Crouch were farewelled.

Take a look at what happened during the Crows’ best and fairest night.

‘WE WILL GET THERE ONE DAY’

Save outside of Alex Neal-Bullen winning the Phil Walsh Award for best team man, hardly surprising given he was voted into the leadership group before he played a game, it was a clean sweep for Dawson when it came to the big awards.

On top of his third straight gold jacket, the Crows star won the Members’ MVP and the Player’s Trademark Award.

It adds to his All-Australian selection and being named as the best captain in the league by his peers.

But when asked on how he rated his season on a whole, the way it ended with the Crows not winning a final meant Dawson was “pretty disappointed to be honest” with it.

“I know there’s a couple of awards there but it is not about this,” he said.

“I am obviously extremely grateful to be up here but you play footy for the team accolades and the way we finished the season doesn’t sit very well with me and anyone in the playing group and the coaches as well.

“I am happy with my season and how I performed at times but the way it finished I think will fuel me and the rest of the playing group in the off-season.”

The Crows won a club record 18 home-and-away games to claim the minor premiership, mentioned multiple times throughout the night, but fell flat when finals came around.

Dawson said in a way the straight sets exit could be good for the Crows and he was confident that “we will get there one day”.

“I think one of our main focuses on the year was our energy and intent and we wanted to beat teams with our energy and celebrations and I think that was probably an area that we wavered from a bit in finals,” he said.

“I feel like every season I have more belief in the group, we finished top for a reason.

“We work so hard, I have never been around a group that works harder and wants something more and I kind of feel in a weird, sick, twisted way it was a good thing that we didn’t win a final because it makes us hungrier going into the off-season and the pre-season that we know how close we are but also how far away we can be.”

On top of Smith and Crouch – as well as the other departing players – fitness guru Darren Burgess was one namechecked ahead of his move to Italian soccer giants Juventus.

Dawson said Burgess and his “s**t Premier League stories” will always be welcome back at West Lakes.

LOUIE LOST TO COLLINGWOOD?

While the glasses were raised to Dawson at the end of proceedings, Walker was the toast of the night.

The Crows may have announced in the room that the club’s leading goalkicker had signed a new contract, but it was one of the worst kept secrets in Adelaide footy right now.

When it was confirmed, it got the biggest cheer of the night.

Walker also got the biggest laughs of the night from his interview on the couch.

They came right from the off, when he was asked what his favourite goal was from the highlight reel that was just shown.

Crows fans would have loved that he chose the one where he turned Aliir Aliir inside out in his Showdown Medal winning performance in 2023.

“I probably shouldn’t say it because he (Aliir) was concussed and he got put back on,” Walker said.

“If you look at the behind the goal vision I go on my right, sell the candy, go on my left and Fog (Darcy Fogarty) is leading and I jam it on my left and Fog throws his head back with disappointment to the sky and then puts his hands up.”

Walker’s son Louie’s love of Collingwood and Nick Daicos also had the room cracking up, especially when the Crows great recently realised that this love of the Magpies and their star might be too far along.

“It goes back to when we were in Fiji and Nick and his beautiful partner were over there and they just showed immense love to Louie and he just remembers it,” he said.

“To the point where we were just over in Singapore and we had interconnecting rooms and he said to Ellie “can I have your phone mum?” and she was like “no you can’t” and he looked at the room numbers and said “that’s 635, Hugo (Walker’s other son) can you put your hand over 6 and that’s Nick Daicos’ room”.

“And I was like “s**t I’ve really lost this kid”.

“So I’ve gone on some rentals and seen if anyone out there wants a kid.”

Onto the serious stuff with Walker, the 35-year-old said penning a one-year deal to play on in 2026 was about doing whatever he could to help the Crows get to where they want to be.

Even if this means the number of games he plays at AFL level are low.

“I don’t take no for an answer and I just know that we are on the right trajectory and whether that means I play 10 games or 15 I just want to help this footy club get to where it wants to be,” he said.

“We haven’t won a flag since 1998 and I just want to try and play my role in this journey that we have started under Nicksy.”

NICKS’ MOTHERLY ADVICE

The Crows senior coach also kept it in the family during his speech.

And based on it, watching a Crows game with his mum Bev would be an experience.

As part of talking about the passion of sport, and just how much the way the Crows season ended hurt Nicks told a story of watching one of Adelaide’s SANFL team’s finals with his mum – the first time they had done it together in around 30 years.

“I was struck with how emotionally invested she was, at one point I actually had to ask her to stop,” he said.

“Mum was shouting out and visibly angry, “that’s it, put your f***ing head over the ball”, “bloody umpires, that’s pathetic”.

“It was in that moment that I actually saw from a supporters point of view, what being truly invested looks like.

“My mum loves this footy club, she loves the players, she knows how hard everybody works, she rides every bump and every tackle.

“She thinks we have the greatest coach in the history of the game, she is fully invested and if she struggles to hide that passion then I understand why the way this season ended hurt so many of us.”

Nicks said the frustration and disappointment at the end of the season showed just how much those at the Crows cared, and knew how much they needed to improve, but they shouldn’t lose sight “of what we achieved”.

“Our build has been deliberate and is on track,” he said.

And finishing his speech, he said the challenge for next season was simple.

“We need to stay passionate, keep believing in who we are and as my mum demands we need to put our “f***ing head over it”,” he said.

THE OTHER BURGESS

Walker’s status is now confirmed for 2026, but what about fellow key forward Chris Burgess.

The former Gold Coast Sun is still without a deal for next year, the only Crows player in limbo.

This year the key forward did what he does well, dominate a state league competition as he took out the best and fairest for the Crows’ SANFL team.

After his short speech we are still no closer to knowing his status for 2026.

“It has been amazing and hopefully onto next year,” he said.