One reportedly involved the use of a so-called sacred symbol, another being restricted from remaining in touch with family and a third was at least one highly confronting — for some — ritual exercise. But it was not only that section of footballers who were unhappy with what took place. At least two coaches felt uncomfortable with some of what took place. All have been told to stop discussing the experience and as recently as Tuesday staff were questioned about the leaks and told to put the camp behind them. It is disappointing — but not unusual in football - that much of the blame for the public airing of grievances has been placed upon certain wives and partners within the club. Footballers were discouraged from sharing details of the camp with family members. Walker said he would not want to break the deep bonds he experienced by revealing key elements of what took place but that he would be comfortable with sharing those details with fiancee Ellie if required. But some wives remain disenchanted with the Crows, who in turn are blaming them and players' managers for exposing potentially inflammatory details of the camp that were supposed to remain confidential. One player — not indigenous — who has publicly supported the Gold Coast human workshop and its effect on him has privately admitted that some elements of the experience would be viewed as highly incendiary if made public. Club chairman Rob Chapman sighed when contacted this week regarding the camp and suggested there were probably 10 more interesting stories available to investigate. This deflection was comparable to Melbourne president Glen Bartlett’s initial response to the Demons’ camp controversy that ‘‘it must be a slow news day’’.

After the Kurt Tippett affair, Chapman established at Adelaide a ''professional standards and integrity committee'' and yet despite the radical nature of the camp — overseen by Collective Minds creator Amon Woulfe — the exercise bypassed the committee. Senior welfare staff at the Crows were also left largely in the dark. Chapman, who denied the club was conducting a witch hunt since the story broke late last month, remained unapologetic regarding that procedural lapse. He said that the club would be unable to practically function if all such events were run by the committee. Yet Chapman could not say whether Adelaide would continue to employ Collective Minds despite reports the two parties remained contractually committed for this year. Certainly Chapman and chief executive Andrew Fagan both admitted the Crows were highly unlikely to repeat the camp at the end of 2018. Chapman’s stance has shifted since his pre-game address at the Adelaide-Richmond game when he largely denounced the reporting and controversy surrounding the late January event and played down any issues.

‘‘Everyone in the club is obviously having to review certain issues,’’ said Chapman. ‘‘Did we have a formal review? Yes we did and those findings will remain within the club. There are some things we would do differently and we’re not glossing over that. ‘‘There are learnings from it and there are certainly things we won’t do again. That's why I love doing reviews.’’ The chairman said the club had not reached a decision regarding continuing its relationship with Woulfe’s organisation. ‘‘I don’t know the answer to that,’’ he said. ‘‘There are several factors. One is the cost and obviously then the question comes as to whether it’s worth doing given all the scrutiny.’’ Tom Lynch, who had a virus but still attended the camp, departed early due to ill health but has denied any major concerns with the camp.

Several senior Crows players, though, remain disappointed at the fact the camp conveners lacked psychological or medical expertise given the confrontational nature of certain scenarios. Football boss Brett Burton first raised the prospect of a relationship with Collective Minds when he worked at the Brisbane Lions, running that club’s high performance. The Lions more recently rejected another approach from Woulfe, choosing to prioritise the welfare of players and their families given that club’s issues in the past with retention. As reported last week by Fairfax Media, Woulfe has no medical or psychological qualifications despite promoting his consultancy as creating circumstances to examine players’ mental skills and investigate their ability to perform under pressure. The exercise, as Woulfe explained it, involved the measurement of the brain activity of the participants. His academic qualifications are economic and business-related. Chapman admitted he had received varied responses from players and coaches after the Woulfe-run event which clearly divided some staff and players. Fairfax Media understands at least two players — Eddie Betts and Sam Jacobs — addressed the topic with their chairman shortly after returning back to Adelaide. Betts and Jacobs were two of a smaller group of senior players blindfolded for two hours and taken to an unknown location where they spent two days undergoing an intensive exercise, an abridged version of the week-long Mankind workshop.

There are various versions from the Adelaide hierarchy regarding whether Betts was allowed to remain in contact with his wife Anna, at home with the couple’s two young children and pregnant with twins. Suffice to say deep dissatisfaction still lingers among the Betts family as a result of what took place. ‘‘My players would come to me as they have over the past decade to talk about things that worry them,’’ said the Crows chairman. ‘‘I’ve had varied responses and I’m not going to reveal any discussions they’ve had with me on the camp or any other topic otherwise they would have every right to stop coming to me.’’ Jacobs, who lost his brother Aaron to cancer last year, took the trouble to contact Fairfax Media to insist that he was never made to feel vulnerable during the Mankind Project regarding personal matters. However Jacobs said he was less clear regarding the reactions of others to his circumstances. He neither confirmed nor denied that members of his family were unhappy about what took place during the camp and is understood to have not discussed the experience with key family members.

Nor did he deny that he and Betts approached Chapman shortly after the cultish exercise to discuss what took place. ‘‘Chappy and I are good mates and we talk about a lot of things away from footy,’’ said Jacobs, unwilling to elaborate further. Senior Crow Rory Sloane said last week: ‘‘I absolutely 100 per cent came back from that camp feeling like a better husband, a better son and a much better teammate than I was before I left.’’ And yet everyone at the club when questioned now admits the camp was not for everyone. Taylor Walker has admitted there were issues from their pre-season camp. Credit:AAP

That party line was launched by coach Don Pyke late last week after Walker had admitted his indigenous teammates had been uncomfortable with the experience. It seems extraordinary given the priority placed by the AFL and the AFL Players Association on players’ mental health that no meaningful investigation has taken place since the facts of the camp were made public. Equally, given the events of recent years, that any experimental or radical program is not run by head office. The AFLPA’s Paul Marsh did contact a small group of Adelaide players who assured him they had no issues with the camp. No Adelaide player has contacted the AFLPA. Having been criticised by Demons bosses for its role in the cancellation of that brutal pre-season camp, the players’ union feels it is on a hiding to nothing now that it has chosen to leave this controversy to the Crows to resolve. Neither has the AFL intervened despite the indigenous discomfort and the fact its social inclusion and diversity boss Tanya Hosch is based in Adelaide and sits on the recently created joint working party made up of players, clubs and the league reviewing the mental welfare of footballers.