Why can't Crows shake off the 'C' word?

And yet among the many on- and off-field problems facing the club in 2020 is the fact that not everyone at Adelaide truly sees the camp for what it was. Even now. Chief executive Andrew Fagan, who did not emerge well from the review but survived, seems to accept the depth of the mistake, saying his own error was to believe the wrong people at the time and afterwards.

But the club's chief communicator Ian Shuttleworth still holds the view that reports of what took place were exaggerated and that the camp was not as damaging as even AFL head office now accepts. For the sake of the club and the welfare of some who were there the club's PR machine should hope some of the more horrifying details never become public.

The media boss' view is not helping the club and nor is its most public face Mark Ricciuto, who remains deluded if he believes that the exodus of players the Crows wanted to keep was truly financial - or he is complicit in the cover-up that caused almost as much angst as the camp itself.

There have been calls for Ricciuto, too, to fall on his sword and certainly the football director's ongoing strong backing of former football boss Brett Burton, who instigated the camp and failed dismally in handling the fall-out, has hurt his reputation. His brutal assessment of the Crows' list changes completely ignored the camp influence and placed more scrutiny on Justin Reid and some of the stranger player manoeuvres Reid has overseen in recent years.

And none of the above is actually helping sell the Crows to potential top-10 draft pick Luke Edwards, son of dual premiership star Tyson, who has yet to commit to being a father-son selection.

Rookie coach Matthew Nicks may or may not prove an inspired choice but the impression of his inexperience and the lack of strong AFL experience around him will continue should the team continue to struggle and the public off-field battles rage.

From this perspective, Ricciuto mucked up but should stick around to continue to clean up the damage for which he remains partially responsible. His influence is too important. He has read the results of the damning Jason Dunstall review and surely having witnessed the fall-out of his Triple M comments this week understands his error.

But he needs to publicly take his head out of the sand. And strongly reassess the Crows' list management over recent years.

In a coincidental piece of timing Adelaide's recent history has again become a headline issue at a time the arch enemy Port Adelaide are fighting for their prison-bar jumper history.

The strength and passion of the old South Australian Magpies prevailed at the end of 2019 when Ken Hinkley was forced to accept the historic one-captain model and Ollie Wines was demoted. It is not the first time a Port coach has lost a captaincy battle as Mark Williams - who lost his push in 2009 to replace Warren Tredrea with Shaun Burgoyne - will attest.

Hinkley knew better where and when to choose his battles and accepted the weight of the Port faithful and the famous No. 1. David Koch and Keith Thomas, too, are unlikely to defeat Eddie McGuire and Collingwood in their bid to wear the heritage jumper at all Showdowns but seem to have decided that the battle will prove a winner for their faithful and therefore their club either way.

Perhaps it's the tough times but Port's bosses are denying they are drowning in their proud history but are simply honouring it. And that's always easier when you're winning.