A quick sell by new coach Brenton Sanderson helped convert Adelaide from AFL also-rans, Crows defender Ben Rutten says.
“It’s interesting when you get a new coach,” said Rutten, who has played under Gary Ayres, Neil Craig, briefly Mark Bickley, and Sanderson during his 191-game career at Adelaide.
“The most important thing is to get the players believing what he’s saying and believing what he’s trying to tell them.
“And Sando built that relationship.
“Where he has come from has been successful environment and the players were really quick to bond to him and have that belief in what he’s trying to do.”
Sanderson preached a contested brand he, and now the players, believe will survive Saturday’s litmus test – a home qualifying final against Sydney.
“The game style we’re trying to play, and the key areas, will hold up not only during the year but in finals as well,” Rutten said.
“That has been really important. That makes it easy to coach because you don’t have to try to sell the message so much, because the boys really bought into it.”
Prime movers in Adelaide’s climb from last year’s club worst finish, 14th, have been ball hunting midfielders Scott Thompson, Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane.
But Rutten, who has been Adelaide’s cornerstone – big and damn solid – for a decade, has also unearthed new defensive pillars in 31-gamer Daniel Talia and dozen-gamer Sam Shaw.
“Talia has had had some big jobs this year and he just keeps performing,” Rutten said of his 20-year-old backline partner.
“My role has changed slightly in terms of the type of opponents I play on and my roles within that.
“I still play that deeper role, but it’s the type of opponent you get these days.
“Not every team has got your traditional full forward that plays out of the square, so the game keeps evolving and you need to adapt.”
The 29-year-old Rutten will play his 10th final on Saturday – and in Adelaide’s last, a 2009 semi-final against Collingwood, he gave away the free kick that led to the Magpies’ match-winning goal.
“You draw on that for a bit of experience but we have got a good chunk of the team that hasn’t played in finals, so they’re finding their way a little bit,” Rutten said.
“Some of the more experienced guys can especially help with the week to week stuff … keep your focus and try not to let the outside distractions get hold of you.”