Trust in Sando, says Crows chairman Rob Chapman

Adelaide Crows coach Brenton Sanderson arrives back from Perth. Picture: Tait Schmaal. Source: News Corp Australia

ADELAIDE chairman Rob Chapman has backed the direction of his club and coach Brenton Sanderson as they negotiate a tricky AFL landscape.

The Crows enter Saturday's clash with North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval saddled with a 5-6 win-loss record - never in the black for a season that promised so much.

Chapman met with coach Brenton Sanderson to dissect a 40-point loss to Fremantle in Perth that continued a fluctuating campaign for Adelaide and concluded he is "absolutely" on the right path.

"I had a quick debrief with Sando post game and discussed some of the reasons as best you can straight after the game as to why we got the result we got. That will be fleshed out, " said Chapman with the Crows attempting to avoid an empty September schedule.

"I trust where Sando is taking this and complete faith in him reviewing this week's game to get a better result."

While skipper Nathan van Berlo is still on the comeback trail from a serious Achilles injury, Chapman noted the development of stand-in skippers Patrick Dangerfield, Rory Sloane and in-form defender Daniel Talia.

There are green shoots.

What's Plan B? Crows coach Brenton Sanderson during the loss to Fremantle. Picture: Danial Wilkins.

"We have some excellent leaders like Patrick, Rory, Daniel who are learning on the job. Our leadership stocks are in good stead for the future," Chapman told The Advertiser.

While Chapman must contend with a Crows side languishing mid table, it is not where the club would want to be in terms of profitability.

The Crows keep packing Adelaide Oval and its corporate facilities in 2014 but a segment of the revenue stream is consumed by the Stadium Management Authority and SANFL.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan will next month chair a review where the Adelaide Oval numbers will be crunched.

The projections of uplift delivered two years ago will be finally compared with numerical reality.

The SANFL has indicated there will be a $12 million uplift to the Crows and Port from the move to Adelaide Oval.

Adelaide Crows coach Brenton Sanderson says his team was blown off the park in the second half.

The state's AFL clubs expect it is $7m with a predicted split of $3m for Adelaide and $3.9m at Alberton.

If the Crows' uplift dipped below $3m - even to $2.5m - then the financial afterglow of the move from West Lakes would dim appreciably.

Regardless, Chapman declined to speculate on any figures - determined to wait for the results of next month's stadium review.

"We have a plan and that has been articulated for the last 18 months. We are in the middle of executing against it and it is going well.

"We will do the review with all the goodwill necessary to get a good outcome.

"We are also working really hard to get better on-field results and that will be our focus this week against North Melbourne."