After his public sledge of West Coast star Nic Naitanui, Adelaide ruckman Reilly O’Brien is shaken. Now, he’s preparing to be stirred.
O’Brien labelled the Eagles ruckman “lazy and unfit” in a game note he mistakenly posted on social media.
The Crows ruck soon deleted the Twitter post ahead of his duel with Naitanui in Saturday’s AFL game on the Gold Coast, replacing it with an apologetic video.
“It was an honest mistake,” Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks told reporters on Friday.
“You could see yesterday that he was shaken up by it.”
Nicks credited O’Brien for his hasty video apology.
“He made the call and put something out there to the public and probably more for Nic Nat, because he has got huge respect for Nic Naitanui,” he said.
“The footy that he (Naitanui) is playing at the moment is second to none when it comes to ruck work.
“Rob, every week, he is a true professional, he goes through and takes his notes as to what he needs to do for that weekend.
“And part of being an athlete is finding weaknesses, finding areas that maybe he can expose an opposition. We don’t normally tweet that out.
“He had some phone issues. It is what it is … and now he has just got to get ready for that first centre bounce because Nic Nat will be pretty fired up.”
O’Brien’s blunder adds a fascinating sub-plot to Saturday’s fixture between the winless Crows and 15th-placed Eagles.
Nicks will field a callow forward line with ex-captain Taylor Walker sidelined by a knee injury – only 144-gamer Tom Lynch has played more than eight AFL games in Adelaide’s attack.
But Nicks said he was excited rather than concerned at the prospect of coming up against a battle-hardened Eagles defence long-renowned as among the competition’s best.
“We feel like the youth is going to give us a contest and enjoy the challenge, and what bigger challenge than West Coast’s backline,” Nicks said.
Adelaide’s forward line will feature Tyson Stengle, who has served a club-imposed four-game suspension for drink-driving, while Adelaide will unveil defender Andrew McPherson – the eighth player to debut for the Crows this season.