The Interview: Mark Ricciuto (Page 3)

Why was (coach) Malcolm Blight so good in those two years?

He came to the club at a stage where everyone was unhappy and depressed. Malcolm encouraged players to be attacking and free-flowing. He wanted us to play with flair and put all our skills on display. That�s how you play as a kid, and that�s when you have the most fun.

We had a couple of tough years under Robert Shaw, so when Malcolm came, he got us fit. Neil Craig joined the club as our fitness coach and we didn�t touch a footy before Christmas. We were fitter than ever before, by quite a long way.

The thing is Malcolm hated losing more than anyone. He had a fear of it.

You look at who�s been successful at the Crows and who hasn�t. The likes of Blight and Neil Craig were accepted by the public with open arms, yet Gary Ayres and Robert Shaw always seemed to be doing it tough getting the fans and the media onside. Do South Australian�s in general have an easier time accepting their own?

I�m not sure that�s entirely the case. Shaw didn�t quite fit in, but he also had a lot of bad luck. I don�t think he could handle the pressure of a one-team town. During his time we went backwards for the first time in the club�s history.

But Ayresy did a pretty good job. He took over when we were 11th, then took us to 8th and 6th, then 3rd and back to 6th. A pretty good career. I thought it might have been a bit better if he was more positive in a few areas. In saying that, his record was first class and the Adelaide people accepted him for sure.

Your last game was not exactly glorious. Four touches, no goals, and you finished on the bench. The Crows also lost off the last kick of the game. How long will that stay with you for?

Look, a lot of people have spoken about whether I should or shouldn�t have played. I had a bad knee, but I tried it out on the Wednesday before the game with a painkilling injection and it felt fine.

I had one of the worst games in my career. In saying that, it was tough for everyone on our forward line that day.

A bad day personally and a bad day for the club. We thought we were going to win all day. Huge effort from Buddy Franklin to steal the game, but the game was indicative of the way we played all year. Up and down. We probably got our just deserts.

But if (the same situation) came around again, I�d certainly play again.

What sparked the story after the game was Neil Craig saying in the press conference that he essentially played you �as a favour to a senior player who was a wonderful servant�. It didn�t sound good�.

Oh yeah. He readily admits it didn�t come out like it was supposed to. It certainly wasn�t just about giving me a game. He made that clear through his stint at the club. Neil doesn�t hand out games.

He apologised to me a couple of days after to make sure I didn�t misinterpret what he said.

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