In the aftermath of a dominant 72-point victory over Essendon at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium on Sunday, Adelaide Crows senior head coach Matthew Nicks has publicly thrown his full support behind his trusted coaching director, Murray Davis, as Davis competes for the vacant Essendon senior coaching role.
Nicks confirmed he has already held open discussions with Davis about the career opportunity, and made clear that the 49-year-old assistant has his complete blessing to pursue the Bombers’ top job, even if it means Davis departs the Adelaide program ahead of the upcoming September finals series.
“I trust Murray completely,” Nicks told reporters post-game. “If he wants to stay with us, we would be thrilled to keep him here and work through the rest of the season. He has done incredible work for our program over the past two seasons, and he deserves every bit of this opportunity. If this role works out for him, we wish him nothing but the best.”
Davis has emerged as an unexpected dark horse contender for the Essendon position, standing out from the three other high-profile candidates due to one key difference: he is the only applicant in the running without prior senior-level AFL playing experience. His competitors for the role include Essendon club legend James Hird, former Bombers midfielder Mark McVeigh, and 2000 premiership-winning defender Dean Solomon, who currently serves as Essendon’s interim head coach.
Davis built his coaching resume over 13 seasons with the Brisbane Lions before joining Nicks’ Adelaide coaching staff at the start of the 2024 AFL season.
Beyond the coaching staff drama, Sunday’s blowout win over Essendon delivered major postseason momentum for the Crows. Combined with Brisbane’s lopsided loss to Carlton on Saturday, the victory pushed Adelaide up past Brisbane into the AFL’s top four, putting the club in an excellent position to secure a valuable double chance in the September finals series.
Nicks said his playing group is well aware of the opportunity now in front of them, but emphasized the squad remains focused on taking each remaining game one at a time. “We don’t shy away from the fact that a top-four spot is now within our reach,” he said. “If we win our final three games of the regular season, that spot is ours. But it’s easier said than done — we’ve got three really tough matches coming up, so we just have to lock in on the next challenge first.”
The Crows will return to their home ground this Saturday night to face Richmond, before traveling west the following week to take on league ladder leaders Fremantle in what is shaping up to be a critical test of their top-four credentials.