After the Showdown, the 21-year-old “kept going on with it,” and now others are telling him to “shy away” from portraying the villain. A seasoned colleague chastised Josh Rachel and told him not to display his personality, particularly following a physical game.
Prior to an AFL match versus Port Adelaide, the 21-year-old made a humorous remark, adding, “Port fans don’t have many teeth.” He then pretended to apologize to fans on the field and teased them by showing his teeth after scoring a goal in the second quarter.
In the end, however, Port won 11.14 (80) to 8.10 (58) to make the top four. It was their fourth finals appearance, while the Crows had not made the top eight since 2017.
Watch Video Rory Laird Slaps Down Josh Rachele
After the loss, Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks said he was concerned about suppressing emotions and turning players into robots, but added “We get carried away by emotions sometimes.”
Rory Laird, who is not part of the Crows’ leadership team, was candid about the matter. When asked if Rachel’s comments resonated with the rest of the team, he said, “That’s a good question” and acknowledged that the competitiveness of the Showdown overtook the priority of the team, which tries to let its football do its talking.
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“You’re right, we haven’t had anything like this in the last few years,” he added.
“We all know Josh has been involved in that kind of behavior before. He’s a big celebrater and a very passionate person. He said it as a joke and a laugh, but it’s something we try to stay away from.” “It’s not normal for many of our players to try to do this. It was a little incongruous with our approach to games. I think Josh understands that.”
“He kept it going and it coincided with the intensity and passion of the game, so he got swept up in the game and kept it moving rather than letting his football do the talking.”
Laird suggested Josh would be given a chance to reflect on this rather than be personally questioned. “Josh will reflect on it himself, and if he needs to speak to someone at the club he will,” he said.
Some fans described Laird’s response as “disappointing” and “boring”. “A senior player throwing “There is an old football player under the bus. What a great culture we have at the club,” one fan said. Another fan wrote, “Rach, just be yourself! You had fun around the guys at the club, it’s not a big deal.”
Rach’s teammate Lachie Murphy defended Rachael in a press conference on Monday, saying “We don’t want robots in the game. Everyone has their own personality.”
Adelaide assistant coach Scott Burns, who himself has been without a tooth for 15 years, said there wasn’t much to Rachael’s comments. He likened it to Port’s Tom Jonas calling the Crows “arrogant” in 2022.
Captain Jordan Dawson and teammate Darcy Fogarty also said they would try to damage Port Adelaide’s finals hopes, but Dawson tried to avoid putting too much emphasis on it. “We are focusing on our game, not adding fuel to the fire,” he said.
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