Adelaide onballer Bernie Vince says his starring role in the Crows' pre-season cup win over West Coast was motivated by guilt.
Bernie Vince says his starring role in Adelaide's AFL pre-season cup win was motivated by guilt.
Vince was best afield as the Crows posted a 34-point win over West Coast on Saturday night to claim the pre-season title.
Vince entered the match after being disciplined by his club for his antics at a country pub last Sunday.
The midfielder was dressed only in boxer shorts in the pub as he helped his cricket club celebrate their premiership - the latest in a string of indiscretions testing the patience of Crows officials.
Vince, who has previously been suspended twice for late nights out, was ordered to buy 60 double tickets for the pre-season final and given a deferred suspension.
"I thought I owed the group," Vince said after collecting the Michael Tuck medal for best on ground.
"I don't really think too much wider of the group and the footy club.
"I didn't come out and try to get best or anything like that but I owed them something and was going to give them my all."
Adelaide mentor Brenton Sanderson, the first man in 30 years to win a pre-season trophy in his initial season as coach, said the Vince saga was "a minor distraction".
"Internally the boys were focused," Sanderson said.
"It was blown up a little bit in the media."
Sanderson said the pre-season cup was heartening for himself and his assistant coaches, who have introduced a greater emphasis on contested football and quicker ball movement to the Crows.
"It's good for the coaching group because we have worked really hard at developing a style of play which we feel can work," Sanderson said.
"It's really satisfying to see it work against other sides ... it's a nice reward for how hard we have worked through the summer.
"It's not rocket science, we are just doing the basics really well at the moment.
"We're playing contested footy which I think the players are relishing."
Sanderson's desire to build the strength of his young group was evidenced by more than 20 players lifting personal bests in the weights room last week.
"It is showing out there with our contested footy, everyone is a lot stronger and harder over the ball," Vince said.
