After a phenomenal season in 2017, claiming the minor premiership and making a grand final, Adelaide are yet to replicate any success or make the finals since.
Everyone knows the story of the infamous pre-season camp that followed the grand final loss, with ramifications still being felt recently.
It all went wrong for the Crows after that, with key players departing the club in the following years.
We take a look back to that grand final side and ponder the question; Where are they now?
Currently listed Crows
Only five of the 22 players who wore red, navy blue and gold in the 2017 grand final still do today.
They are Rory Laird, Paul Seedsman, Rory Sloane, Taylor Walker and Matt Crouch.
Laird is coming off back-to-back best and fairest wins, Seedsman will unfortunately miss another season to injury, Crouch's future at the club is much in doubt, while former captains Sloane and Walker continue for season 15.
Listed elsewhere
Six Crows from the 2017 season decider are playing across the league for different clubs heading into 2023...
Jake Lever
Jake Lever was labelled one of the best young emerging key defenders (three 22under22 selections), but was heading into the grand final with a cloud over his contract status.
Three days after the grand final loss, Lever requested a trade to Melbourne.
Four years after tasting defeat in the decider, he found himself on the other side, winning a flag.
The 2021 All-Australian has starred down back at Melbourne since making the switch to Victoria.
Rory Atkins
Rory Atkins played 101 games for Adelaide before joining Gold Coast at the end of 2020.
He has since only played 17 games, spending most of his time in the VFL.
The long-term contract he was offered has been a topic of debate, given he isn't delivering what was initially expected.
Charlie Cameron
Another player who left the club after the grand final loss was Charlie Cameron.
Since joining Brisbane, the dynamic forward has led the Lions' goalkicking from 2019 to 2022, and earned an All-Australian blazer in 2021.
An all-important player for a consistent finals contender of the last few years.
Brad Crouch
One of the Crows' best in the grand final loss, Brad Crouch would play for Adelaide until 2020, joining St Kilda as a restricted free agent.
He missed the first two games of 2021 however due to a suspension from the AFL, after he was reprimanded by police alongside Tyson Stengle for possession of an illicit substance.
Since then he has played 41 games with the Saints (136 career games), finishing fifth and sixth in their best and fairest.
Jake Kelly
One of Adelaide's more reliable defenders in his time there, Jake Kelly played 110 games before signing with Essendon as a free agent ahead of the 2022 season.
Kelly played 21 games in his first season at Tullamarine and finished seventh in their best and fairest count.
Hugh Greenwood
After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, college basketballer Hugh Greenwood joined the Perth Wildcats in the NBL.
He would soon decide to quit the sport and pursue a career in the AFL.
In his first season at Adelaide, Greenwood quickly rose to be an important member of their forward line, playing a grand final in his first year.
After 51 games, he requested a trade to the Suns at the end of 2019.
Injuring his ACL in his second season there, Greenwood was delisted with the intent to be re-drafted, however, he shockingly signed with North Melbourne at the end of 2021.
No longer playing
As aforementioned, 11 members of the squad who lined up on grand final day are no longer playing at the top level...
Kyle Hartigan
The former Crow and Hawk played 135 games (113 for Adelaide) before he was delisted by Hawthorn last year.
Earlier this year, Hartigan was seen down at his old VFL side Werribee, helping out as a 'specialist coach'.
Great to see Kyle Hartigan back in Werribee colours more than a decade after last playing for the club.
The former Adelaide & Hawthorn defender was on hand to provide some specialist coaching tonight.
โซ๏ธ๐ก #werribee23 pic.twitter.com/Wz5phhQCXc
— Werribee FC (@WerribeeFC) January 30, 2023
Daniel Talia
One player that would love to forget the grand final loss is Daniel Talia.
Talia managed just three disposals despite having 95 per cent time on ground.
Yet, the key defender was a star at his best.
The 200-gamer won the 2012 Rising Star Award, the club best and fairest in 2014, was named All-Australian twice and made the 22under22 side three times.
The former Calder Cannon was delisted in 2021, after missing the season to injury.
Talia is now an acquisitions manager at MRS Property in Adelaide.
Luke Brown
Initially recruited by GWS as a pre-selection before they joined the competition, Luke Brown was traded to Adelaide in 2011.
He would make his debut against the Giants in Round 16, 2012, and by the following year had established himself in the team.
The small defender would retire last year after 189 games, a run that included the 2017 grand final.
Since ending his AFL career, Brown has linked up with his old side Tea Tree Gully, a Division 1 club in the Adelaide Football League.
David Mackay
One of the longer-tenured players on this list, David Mackay played 248 games before retiring in 2021.
Currently, he has played the ninth most games in club history but could be surpassed by Walker and Sloane this season.
After hanging up the boots, 'D-Mac' joined the Hawthorn coaching ranks, working with Box Hill Hawks and the AFLW program as a midfield coach.
Recently he has been appointed development coach.
Josh Jenkins
Initially joining Essendon as a rookie, Jenkins spent 2011 playing in the VFL before he was traded to Adelaide.
At the Crows is where he made his career as a forward/ruckman, playing 147 games and kicking 296 goals.
He was the club's leading goalkicker in 2018.
Jenkins joined Geelong at the end of 2019, but his time there wasn't as memorable, managing two games in two years before retiring.
Today he coaches at the Cats, while also working with Sportsbet and SEN.
Eddie Betts
There's little introduction needed for one of the most known players and the biggest star of this list.
Three All-Australians, six club goalkicking awards and four Goal of the Year wins for Eddie Betts were collected across the small forward's decorated career.
The Indigenous icon played 350 games and kicked 640 goals across two stints at Carlton and one at Adelaide.
After retiring in 2021, Betts moved into a coaching role at Geelong and was instrumental in the arrival and development of All-Australian Tyson Stengle.
Betts departed the Cats after a season, looking to focus on his foundation supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to pursue their sporting dreams.
Also last year, Betts released his memoir, The Boy from Boomerang Crescent,ย which revealed more information on the infamous pre-season camp.
More recently it was announced two of Betts' books will be released as a cartoon on Netflix and NITV, with Betts on board as a producer.
Tom Lynch
The former Saint and Crow played 164 games and kicked 203 goals, pretty much all at Adelaide before he was delisted in 2021.
Lynch then joined North Melbourne as a development coach and was later signed to the club's list ahead of the 2022 season as part of the Supplemental Selection Period.
He officially retired in May, not playing a game for the Roos.
The 2013 Adelaide leading goalkicker was named caretaker VFL coach after Leigh Adams was called up to the senior side, but has now been officially appointed head coach of the VFL team for 2023.
Richard Douglas
One of the Crows' best in the grand final loss, Douglas was in his 12th season by that point, and would play another two before retiring in 2019.
The 246-gamer is 10th all-time for games played at West Lakes, and like his former teammate Mackay, it's likely Sloane and Walker surpass him this year.
Douglas, the 2010 Malcolm Blight Medal winner, has remained in football since leaving the Crows, joining SANFL side Norwood in recent seasons.
He also held roles at St Peter's College, the Simon Black Academy and in sports management.
More recently, he returned to his old SANFL side Glenelg as the men's senior assistant coach and the football operations and talent manager of the women's group.
Sam Jacobs
Another one of Adelaide's best on that September day in 2017 was Sam Jacobs.
The ruckman had 49 hit-outs to Toby Nankervis' 28, a small contribution to his 6789 career hit-outs, ranked third all-time in the game.
A fan favourite at Adelaide, Jacobs played 184 games for the club, winning the Showdown Medal on three occasions.
Brief stints at Carlton and GWS before and after his time at West Lakes brought his career games tally to 208.
After retiring in 2020, 'Sauce' moved into a full-time engagement role with the club's administration and helped coach the Crows' SANFL team.
The 34-year-old will play for Flagstaff Hills in the South Australian SFL this year.
Riley Knight
Riley Knight's tenure in red, navy blue and gold wasn't too memorable, playing 55 games across seven seasons before being delisted in 2020.
After leaving the club, Knight began playing with his old SANFL side Woodville-West Torrens, and last year was the first Eagle to win the R.O. Shearman Medal in six years.
Knight has recently returned to the Crows, taking charge of the AFLW team's forwards.
Andy Otten
Unfortunately a poor showing in the grand final loss for Andy Otten, but despite that, the defensive-minded utility was a serviceable player for the Crows.
Playing 109 games across 12 seasons, Otten retired in 2019.
After hanging up the boots, the Oakleigh Chargers product moved into a coaching role, spending time at Hawthorn in development before joining Collingwood for 2023.
