{"id":877248,"date":"2026-09-02T09:20:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T09:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/877248\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T09:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T09:20:14","slug":"afl-news-2026-adelaide-crows-coach-matthew-nicks-facing-axe-western-bulldogs-elimination-final-james-hird-comments-press-conference-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/877248\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL news 2026 | Adelaide Crows coach Matthew Nicks facing axe, Western Bulldogs elimination final, James Hird comments, press conference video"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adelaide<\/a> coach Matthew Nicks<\/a> has broken his silence amid mounting speculation that he could be sacked if his side falls to the Western Bulldogs in Saturday night<\/a>\u2019s elimination final.<\/p>\n

Despite Nicks having a year remaining on his contract, several leading journalists reported this week that the 51-year-old\u2019s job hinges on the upcoming clash.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Matthew Nicks spoke to media on Wednesday afternoon.\u00a0Nine<\/p>\n

Nicks faced the media on Wednesday, looking unfazed as he downplayed the external noise and emphasised the unwavering support he has received from both inside and outside the club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the narrative – it\u2019s part of this industry,\u201d Nicks said during a press conference. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something I can talk to. I can talk to what we\u2019ve built, what we\u2019re developing and why I\u2019m really confident about where we sit as a footy club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe focus for me at the moment is footy. The belief we\u2019ve got as a playing group and a staff off the back of 12 months\u2019 worth of work puts us in a really good spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of support in the last 24-48 hours, as I\u2019ve had over the last seven years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to our CEO, President, and a number of board members about where we sit as a club – at this point in time, we\u2019re really looking forward to the challenge we\u2019ve got on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of positive conversations about what we\u2019re seeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tough one to give insurances and 100 per cent guarantees over what happens over the next week \u2013 there\u2019s a lot of pressure over the jobs that we have – I’ve always said that it’s the pressure that I love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel incredibly supported by our president and CEO. I sit in a position where I feel pressure as a coach, as we all do, but that\u2019s why we\u2019re in the seat. I feel great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shifting focus away from the AFL<\/a> rumour mill, Nicks doubled down on the playing group\u2019s belief ahead of their elimination final clash with the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken about it internally; our players have incredible confidence in what we\u2019re building,\u201d Nicks said further. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to comment on whether it\u2019s (the rumours) made up or not \u2013 that I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I do know is I have incredible support from the football club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings change quickly, but the momentum we have as a football club is something I\u2019m incredibly proud of.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere we sit as a football club, we should be incredibly proud of. I don\u2019t want to get into the he-said-she-said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicks comments came the day after AFL legend James Hird<\/a> teed off at claims the Crows would sack their coach if they lose Saturday\u2019s match.<\/p>\n

Nicks took the reins of a rebuilding Crows side in 2020 and took them from wooden spooners that season to a team that many believe is capable of contending for a premiership. <\/p>\n

Adelaide won last year\u2019s minor premiership and backed it up with a sixth placed finish this season.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Darcy Fogarty of the Crows celebrates a goal.\u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

However, last year\u2019s disastrous finals campaign, in which the Crows lost two home finals to go out in straight sets, has put Nicks under extreme pressure to prove he has built a team that can deliver in the heat of September.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it ridiculous, he\u2019s won 18 games last year, 15 games this year, you actually build on a coach\u2019s success,\u201d Hird said on Footy Classified.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know too many coaches who have won 18 games in a year and then 15 the next year, you actually want to build. Yes, they\u2019ve got a very good defence, their ball movement needs to improve, but you bring new people in to actually improve that to get better year after year and build on your success rather than cross him out and go somewhere else and start again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pushed on whether the Crows had a list that should be progressing beyond just qualifying for the finals series, Hird agreed, but added that \u201cthings don\u2019t happen in a linear fashion in football\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s built a defensive profile that\u2019s the envy of most teams in the competition. He\u2019s overlaying that with some better ball movement as it stands at the moment. And I would expect that whether he wins or loses on the weekend … hopefully he\u2019s there next year and he can build on it again,\u201d Hird said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut to sack a coach after 18 wins and 15 wins I just think sounds absolutely ludicrous.\u201d <\/p>\n

The club has been given several opportunities to put that narrative to bed but statements by the chairman and another club director only inflamed the story by using language that leaves the door open for the axe to fall.<\/p>\n

Hird was dumbfounded that the Crows had allowed the story to develop given Nicks\u2019 recent record.<\/p>\n

Adelaide radio personality Graeme Goodings, who sits on the club\u2019s board, gave a particularly ominous quote this week on FIVEaa when he asked a guest a question about what constituted a pass mark for Nicks, and it was turned back on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have every faith in the coach, and we\u2019ll take a look at the end of the season,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the official line and that\u2019s all you\u2019re going to get. Basically, the future of the coach is in the players\u2019 hands at the moment,\u201d he then added, unwittingly throwing fuel on the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike everyone, sometimes perhaps you\u2019d like a take two on those things, but it certainly wasn\u2019t emphatic, and it\u2019s heaped the pressure all over Matthew Nicks,\u201d Eddie McGuire<\/a> said of Goodings\u2019 comment on Nine\u2019s Footy Classified.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Luke Beveridge speaks on Footy Classified. \u00a0Footy Classified<\/p>\n

Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge<\/a> has the opportunity to turn the heat up even more on Nicks when their two sides meet on Saturday night but, speaking as a guest on Footy Classified, the 2016 premiership winning coach was bemused that Nicks\u2019 axing was a possibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s at a point where he just thinks it\u2019s a fait accompli that of course he\u2019s coaching next year,\u201d Beveridge said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis record speaks for itself. Yeah they lost two finals last year but they\u2019ve really jumped out ahead of most of the competition. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got a good opportunity, which we\u2019re trying to take off them, on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when something like that comes up, definitely Mr Goodings, the board member, that\u2019s the most concerning one, like internally for there to be grey in that he (Nicks) wouldn\u2019t like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis mind and heart would be straight away with his family because they\u2019re the ones who really struggle with it. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be fine with it. He\u2019ll be dealing with it in the best way possible but the family, people close to him [will be thinking] what does that mean for Matthew and what does that mean for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d be concerned about them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks has broken his silence amid mounting speculation that he could be sacked if his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":877249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-877248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/877249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}