Adelaide is heavily pursuing retired Hawthorn champion Shaun Burgoyne to fulfill an off-field role, reports Michelangelo Rucci.
The 38-year-old called time on his 407-game career at the conclusion of the season and is understood to be weighing up multiple offers for 2022 and beyond.
Fox Footy reported on Wednesday that the Crows, led by CEO Tim Silvers, have proposed a multidimensional Indigenous liaison role to Burgoyne.
Rucci told SEN SA Breakfast that Port Adelaide is also interested in bringing Burgoyne back to Alberton.
“He’s in-demand at a lot of places … he’s got a lot to offer. It comes down to what Adelaide is prepared to put on the table,” Rucci said.
“They’ve gone hard - they’ve gone very hard - even harder than Port Adelaide. I’m not sure how attractive the offer is.
“I can assure you Adelaide has gone very hard for Shaun Burgoyne.”
Power champion Kane Cornes says the four-time premiership player oozes leadership and would do an “unbelievable job” in whatever role is asked of him.
“Tim Silvers knows what he’s doing. They have a very good CEO who clearly has a connection with Shaun (at Hawthorn),” Cornes said.
“You would use Tim’s experience to try and attract the best people.
“Shaun would do an unbelievable job. He’s one of the better leaders that I’ve ever played with, he’s got leadership oozing out of him, and that was from when he was a really young footballer.
“The thing that I always admired about him was he stood up for what he believed was right, even though at times it wasn’t popular.
“I think that’s a really good trait of a leader.
“Clearly it’s a pretty important time for Adelaide to address those issues and maybe there’s been a bit of neglect that’s gone into their Indigenous programs.
“An investment into that space and the other things he could bring in a coaching role as well would be pretty important at that club.”
Adelaide is looking to strengthen their football department following the unsuccessful pursuit of Richmond football boss Neil Balme.