SA Footy

Fantasia moves to SANFL
11:52:23 AM Thu 14 December, 2006
afc.com.au
Adelaide recruiting manager James Fantasia has resigned to take on a new role with the SANFL.

Fantasia, who has been in the senior recruiting role with the Crows since 1995, will be the SANFL’s general manager - game development.

Adelaide chief executive officer Steve Trigg said: “James has been a fantastic contributor to our club. Recruiting can often be subjectively scrutinised but we are very clear as a club that James has over a long period of time led a group that has given us a clear competitive edge with the players they have brought into the club.

“The position with the SANFL is a great opportunity for James’ personal career development and he goes with our very best wishes.”


Fantasia said he was confident he was leaving Adelaide’s playing list in good shape.

“We have worked extremely hard to rebuild the list and right now it is as strong, in development terms, as it ever has been,” he said. “And this group of players is also in very capable hands.

“It has been a privilege to work for the Adelaide Football Club and it is something I cherish and am proud of.”


Oh dear.

This wouldn't be a sideways move would it???

1980 Tassie Medalist wrote:This wouldn't be a sideways move would it???

If the $'s are similar,a move up I would think as his role with the Crows would have involved a significant amount of time away from home.

Id say he would be up slightly in $, wasnt on as much as you might think at the Crows..if he has aspirations of higher roles back at AFL level this is an excellent stepping stone..

People have been saying lately what a great recruiter he has been which may be the case however was thinking maybe its also the excellent enviroment, structure and support the Crows have in place, that some of the other clubs cant afford...this could lead to the drafted players getting the absolute best out of themselves in that enviroment...

Dutchy wrote:
People have been saying lately what a great recruiter he has been which may be the case however was thinking maybe its also the excellent enviroment, structure and support the Crows have in place, that some of the other clubs cant afford...this could lead to the drafted players getting the absolute best out of themselves in that enviroment...

You are on the money on this Dutch !!!

Let's not forget that the Crows were widely tipped to finish last (that's not 'near the bottom of the table', that's dead last) at the start of the 2005 season. The reason commonly given was that apart from a few aging superstars, their list just lacked talent.

I have no doubt that a part of it is training, resources, teamwork etc. But it also turns out that their list had/has rather more talent than most of the pundits thought.

A very large proportion of Adelaide's top-ranked players came with ordinary draft picks or their equivalents: Nathan Bassett in a low-value player swap with Melbourne, Simon Goodwin PSD after being roundly ignored in the national draft, Graham Johncock #67 in the ND, Ben Rutten rookie list, even Brett Burton at a comparatively low pick 16 ND. That's pretty much the Adelaide elite list, except for the holy trinity of Edwards, Ricciutto and McLeod (traded for Chris Groom... hah!) all of whom I think arrived before Fantasia started. Even in 2003, an otherwise poor draft year for the Clones, he plucked a 24-year-old Ben Hudson at #58, just one pick after Carlton had picked up their own matoor-aged ruckman: Ricky Mott. D'oh!

So far as I can tell Fantasia has only had 2 top 10 ND picks in 12 years. That's a pretty amazing record. Although, speaking of D'oh!, the first one was... drumroll... Laurence Angwin at pick #7 in 2000! Luckily for his reputation, John Meesen at #8 in 2004 is likely to end up a slightly happier story.

still not overly convincing, yes he has had some wins but so have many clubs....

as for predicting they would finish dead last in 2005???? cant remember that and dont think that was the case especially with one Wayne Carey still on the list

hopefully Alan Stewart will step in to the Recruitment Manager role

Dutchy wrote:still not overly convincing, yes he has had some wins but so have many clubs....

as for predicting they would finish dead last in 2005???? cant remember that and dont think that was the case especially with one Wayne Carey still on the list

Here it is. (Couldn't be bothered looking for the experts' predictions, but they were in the same ballpark.) This is from a Port board, but I can assure you that the general thread that I read was even worse than this for Adelaide. On this evidence, it's overstating it to say that they were widely tipped to finish last, but they were well and truly in the bottom group of clubs so far as the predictions went, and only a tiny percentage of people picked them to make the 8 (and no-one picked them to come anywhere near where they actually came). The tips ran roughly as follows: 11, 7, 10, 15, 15, 12, 13, 14, 12, 12, 14, 12, 12, 7.

Yes, every club has had a certain number of wins in the draft and trading game. The point is that fans can expect and demand wins with top 3 picks, and trades for players of already-proved calibre like Barry Hall. What really sorts the sheep from the goats is the number of winners you're able to produce with ordinary picks (or ordinary players to trade).

I think he was probably middle of the road in terms of recruiters at AFL level.