Adelaide senior coach Matthew Nicks has slammed a recent report suggesting he notified midfielder Matt Crouch his days at West Lakes were numbered, expressing he was "extremely disappointed" to hear the rumour.
Crouch, who has been on the outer of Nicks' side across multiple weeks this year, was reportedly told his current contract would not be extended.
The 2017 Malcolm Blight medallist is signed to the Crows until the end of next year, and has been linked to the exit in 2022 after being omitted on three occasions and required to ply his trade in the SANFL.
When questioned on the rumour linking Crouch to a premature departure, Nicks stressed that the midfielder is a "required player" at the Crows, quickly looking to put the rumour to rest.
โLet me set the record straight and I wonโt answer 100 questions around this,โ Nicks told media on Friday.
โThere was a news article on Tuesday night that was incorrect.
Here's Matthew Nicks responding to the Matt Crouch situation. pic.twitter.com/5L6TRdEges
— Theo Doropoulos (@TheoDrop) July 29, 2022
โI have not had a conversation with Matt Crouch about his future. He's a required player at this footy club.
"[I was] extremely disappointed on Tuesday night, extremely.
โIโve said this the whole way through, weโve got a squad of 44 players who are all super important to what weโre doing and Matt is super important to what weโre doing.โ
Crouch has played 136 games for the Crows since making his debut in 2014, earning best and fairest and All-Australian honours in the club's 2017 grand final campaign.
His brother, Brad, departed Adelaide in a return to his home state of Victoria at the end of 2020 in a move to St Kilda via free agency.
Matt remains on the outer of Nicks' best 22, having played just one game since Round 14 at AFL level.
