Trigg stays but still packs his bags

Adelaide Crows chief executive Steven Trigg says he offered his resignation to the club but they declined it.

Adelaide Crows chief executive Steven Trigg speaks to members of the media at Crows HQ in West Lakes, the day after the AFL Commission. Picture: Dylan Coker. Source: Sunday Mail (SA)

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CROWS boss Steven Trigg says he considered stepping down "every day" for the past six weeks but was swayed against falling on his sword by yesterday's unanimous backing from the club's board.

Adelaide backed Trigg to continue as the club's chief executive despite his six-month suspension imposed by the AFL for his part in the Kurt Tippett scandal.

Less than 24 hours after Adelaide chairman Rob Chapman declared himself a "personal supporter" of Trigg, the eight other elected members of the club's board voted to retain Trigg when his ban is lifted on July 1.

"The board is united on this," Chapman said.

"All decisions of the board are based on putting the club first and ensuring the best overall outcomes for the club."

Football manager Phil Harper, who inherited the dirty deal built by Trigg and former football boss John Reid in 2009, also won unanimous board backing to retain his role.

Harper received a two-month ban, keeping him off Adelaide's books until March 1.

Dodgy deal the Tippett of the iceberg

But it was the decision to retain Trigg that raised eyebrows in a football community that was predicting a sacking or a voluntary dismissal.

On Friday, the chief executive copped a six-month, unpaid ban from holding any position within the AFL or clubs.

He was also fined $50,000, and faced speculation his position at the club was no longer tenable.

Breaking his silence since the sanctions were handed down on Friday, Trigg revealed he had offered his resignation during several meetings with Chapman after details of Tippett's contract began surfacing during a tumultuous trade period.

Kurt Tippett leaves the AFL Commission with his legal counsel David Gallbally. Picture: Norm Oorloff Source: adelaidenow

"It's been an unbelievable six weeks," Trigg said.

"If I said to you there wasn't a day go by where I didn't think about stepping down you'd probably believe me.

"But particularly in the last week there's been a couple of occasions when I've had that formal discussion with our chairman, and I think reflective of their decision today is the proposition that I can still continue to add value and make sure that we go forward as a footy club."

It is understood Trigg's involvement in ongoing negotiations surrounding the club's move to Adelaide Oval for 2014 and a push for a reserves side were among key planks that won the board's backing.

Despite a wave of outcry at his retention on talkback radio yesterday, Trigg was adamant the stain of his role in the Tippett affair did not affect the viability of his job with the club.

"I've always said I'd love to stay in the role," he said.

"I want to stay in the industry and I want to stay in the role.

"People find that extraordinary given the circumstances, and I understand that as well. I've made some blues, we've buggered up some things, no question about that, and I take complete responsibility.

"But for me, do I want to stay in the role? Absolutely.

"For me it's a question of does the board want me to stay in the role.

"They've put a position where they're really strong, no ambiguity, so it's on that basis that I stay in the role."

Tippett blames Crows for 11-week ban

Trigg learnt of the board's decision in a phone call from Chapman late yesterday morning, immediately after the board meeting.

He was uncertain whether his AFL-imposed ban meant he was allowed to attend games before the suspension ended on July 1.

Trigg said during his enforced lay-off he planned to launch a fact-finding mission with other national and international sporting organisations.

"Apparently I've got a few jobs to do around the house," he said.

"I do need a spell and after 11 years in this role where you're just going flat out the whole time there is a little bit of upside in having a spell. I didn't want it to be this way.

"What I really want to do at some stage is get out, under my own steam and my own cost, and go and look at some world sport so I can learn some things, bring them back here and put them into place.

"Whether that's other codes, other clubs, other sports, I'll spend a bit of time doing that. It needs to be mapped out, I don't want to waste it."

THE PENALTIES

- Adelaide Crows fined $300,000 and stripped of their first and second round picks in the 2013 national draft.

- Tippett fined $50,000 and suspended for the 2013 pre-season and first 11 home and away games, with a suspended sentence for the remaining 11 home and away games.

- Steven Trigg fined $50,000 and suspended from any involvement in the AFL for the first six months of 2013, with a suspended sentence for the remaining six months.

- Former Crows football operations manager John Reid suspended from any involvement in the AFL for the first six months of 2013, with a suspended sentence for the remaining six months.

- Crows football operations manager Phil Harper suspended from any AFL involvement for the first two months of 2013, with a further four-month suspended sentence.

scott.walsh@email.com.au

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