View source for Neil Craig

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1956}}
{{For|the American football player|Neal Craig}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Neil Craig
| image = Neil Craig 04.03.17.jpg
| caption = Craig in March 2017
| fullname = Neil Passmore Craig
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|1|11|df=y}}
| birth_place = 
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| draftpick = No. 2, [[1981 VFL draft|1981 interstate draft]]<!--do not capitalise draft or interstate draft per 1981 AFL draft article title and the Wikipedia manual of style-->
| height = <!-- ### cm -->
| weight = <!-- ### kg -->
| position = 
| statsend = 1990
| coachstatsend = 2013
| years1 = 1973&ndash;1979
| club1 = {{SANFL Nor}}
| games_goals1 = 126 (109)
| years2 = 1980&ndash;1986
| club2 = {{SANFL Stu}}
| games_goals2 = 134 (86)
| years3 = 1987&ndash;1990
| club3 = {{SANFL NA}}
| games_goals3 = 61 (25)
| games_goalstotal = 321 (220)
| coachyears1 = 2004&ndash;2011
| coachclub1 = {{AFL Ade}}
| coachgames_wins1 = 166 (92–74–0)
| coachyears2 = 2013
| coachclub2 = {{AFL Mel}}
| coachgames_wins2 = {{0}}11 {{0}}(1–10–0)
| coachgames_winstotal = 177 (93–84–0)
| careerhighlights = *2× [[List of SANFL premiers|SANFL Premiership player]]: [[1975 SANFL Grand Final|1975]], [[1978 SANFL Grand Final|1978]]
*[[Norwood Football Club|Norwood]] Club Champion: 1977
*[[Sturt Football Club|Sturt]] captain: 1985–1986
*[[AFL Coaches Association Awards#Coach of the year|AFLCA Coach of the Year]]: 2005
*[[South Australian Football Hall of Fame]], inducted 2002
*[[Adelaide Football Club|Adelaide]] life membership, inducted 2021
*[[Australian Football League|AFL]] life membership, inducted 2024
}}
'''Neil Passmore Craig''' (born 11 January 1956) is an Australian [[Australian rules football]] [[coach (sport)|coach]] and former player. He is best known as being coach of the [[Adelaide Football Club]] from 2004 to 2011.<ref name=":0" /> He also notably served as caretaker coach of the [[Melbourne Football Club]] in 2013,<ref name=":1" />

He played for the [[Norwood Football Club]], [[Sturt Football Club]] and the [[North Adelaide Football Club]] in the [[South Australian National Football League]] (SANFL).

He has worked as a [[Strength and conditioning coach|fitness adviser]], coach of the [[Adelaide Football Club]], a caretaker coach of the [[Melbourne Football Club]], head of performance at the [[Essendon Football Club]], as well as director of coaching at the [[Carlton Football Club]].

From 2017 to 2022 he was high performance manager for the [[England national rugby union team|England]] rugby union team, working with head coach [[Eddie Jones (rugby union)|Eddie Jones]].<ref name=":2" />

==Playing career==
Craig played a total of 319 games (and kicked 220 goals) in the [[South Australian National Football League]] (SANFL) as well as 11 [[Interstate matches in Australian rules football#State of origin|State of Origin]] matches for South Australia.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

He played 126 games for the [[Norwood Football Club]], debuting as a 17-year-old in 1973. He was a part of their premiership sides in 1975 and 1978, before leaving the club after the 1979 season.<ref>{{AustralianFootball | neil+craig/572 }}</ref>

Craig played 134 games for [[Sturt Football Club|Sturt]] (captaining the side in 1985 and 1986) between 1980 and 1986 and was also captain of [[South Australia Australian rules football team|South Australia]] in 1984.

He moved to [[North Adelaide Football Club|North Adelaide]], where he finished his career, playing 61 games between 1987 and 1990.  At one stage of his career, Craig was pursued by [[Western Bulldogs|Footscray]], a Victorian team in the [[VFL/AFL|Victorian Football League]] (VFL), but declined the offer as he preferred to stay in South Australia.<ref>[http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20331162%255E19761,00.html Crows' imperfect science], [[Mark Stevens (journalist)|Mark Stevens]], 2 September 2006, [[Herald Sun]]</ref>  At that time there was a great rivalry between the VFL and SANFL and both competitions considered themselves the best in Australia.

==Post-playing career and coaching career==
In 1991, Craig became the coach of Norwood, a position he held until 1995. In 2002, he was inducted into the [[South Australian Football Hall of Fame]].<ref>[http://www.sanfl.com.au/default.aspx?s=historydisplay&aid=98180 Hall of Fame Inductees Including Career Records] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820134410/http://www.sanfl.com.au/default.aspx?s=historydisplay&aid=98180 |date=20 August 2006 }}, [[SANFL]], accessed 8 September 2006.</ref>

===Fitness advising===
Craig hails from a fitness background and holds a [[sports science]] degree.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.afana.com/drupal/node/139 |title=X-Men Want AFL Pledge {{!}} Australian Football Association of North America<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=8 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211500/http://www.afana.com/drupal/node/139 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He has worked with the Australian [[cycle sport|cycling]] team at the [[Olympic Games]] and with the [[South Australian Institute of Sport]] as a senior sports scientist.<ref>[[Lachlan Thompson|Thompson, L.]], ''[http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bike/article.htm Engineering the World's Fastest Bicycle]'', Powerhouse Museum, accessed 8 September 2006</ref> He has worked under cycling legend [[Charlie Walsh]] at the [[Australian Cycling Federation]] (where he was sports science co-ordinator){{citation needed|date=January 2020}} and also recruited Walsh as part of the Crows' AFL coaching panel.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/adelaide/stories/s1655408.htm|title=The Adelaide Crows Neil for their coach Craig |website=Abc.net.au|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref>

===Adelaide===
In 1997, Craig took up the position of fitness adviser with the [[Adelaide Football Club]]. He is credited with helping devise the fitness regime that led the Crows to back-to-back premierships in 1997 and 1998 in which players were trained harder mid-season in order to reach peak fitness during finals matches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/archive/index.php/t-1032.html|title=Craig still coach of the year?|website=Injuryupdate.com.au|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref>

Craig left the club in 1999 to help the Australian Olympic cycling team prepare for the [[2000 Sydney Olympics|2000 Sydney Olympic Games]] but returned in 2001 to be an assistant coach under [[Gary Ayres]]. In late 2001 he was the favourite for the [[West Coast Eagles]] coaching job in 2002 but dropped out of the running. He took over the senior coaching position at the Crows in 2004 as caretaker when Ayres left the club after Round 13.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crowshistory.afc.com.au/past-senior-coaches|title=Past Senior Coaches (AFL)|access-date=November 24, 2021}}</ref> He was then appointed full-time for the 2005 season and immediately led the Crows to their first [[McClelland Trophy|minor premiership]] in [[2005 AFL season|2005]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=nstore&docID=SAG050828K06L31VANRD|title=Report spoils Adelaide joy|first=Mark|last=Duffield|date=28 August 2005|work=The Sunday Age}}</ref> and took the team to two successive preliminary finals in his first two years as senior coach in [[2005 AFL season|2005]] and [[2006 AFL season|2006]], losing and being eliminated by West Coast Eagles twice. Under Craig, the Crows reached the finals for five consecutive years but achieved limited success, leaving him with a finals' coaching record of three wins and six losses. The club under Craig had a disappointing [[2010 AFL season|2010 season]] when Adelaide finished eleventh with nine wins and thirteen losses, therefore missing out of the finals. After another disappointing [[2011 AFL season|2011 season]], when Adelaide under Craig sat fourteenth on the ladder with four wins and twelve losses, Craig resigned as senior coach of the Adelaide Crows on 25 July 2011 after a 103-point loss to [[St Kilda Football Club|St Kilda]] in Round 18.<ref name="smh110725">{{cite news |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |title=Neil Craig quits as Adelaide Crows coach |url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/neil-craig-quits-as-adelaide-crows-coach-20110725-1hwmh.html |date=25 July 2011 |access-date=25 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://au.sports.yahoo.com/afl/news/article/-/9909033/neil-craig-stands-down-as-adelaide-coach/?cmp=fb|title=Neil Craig stands down as Adelaide coach|date=25 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/07/25/3277387.htm|title=Neil Craig steps down as Crows coach|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=25 July 2011|access-date=19 March 2022}}</ref> He left the club as the longest-serving coach in the Crows' history. Craig was then replaced by assistant coach [[Mark Bickley]] as caretaker senior coach for the rest of the 2011 season.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/07/25/3277596.htm|title=Neil Craig calls it quits|website=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=26 July 2011|access-date=19 March 2022}}</ref>

===Melbourne===
After his resignation as Adelaide Football Club senior coach, Craig was signed as the Director of Sports Performance at the [[Melbourne Football Club]] on 29 September 2011, beginning in the 2012 season. His primary role was mentoring and assisting the players of the club, in particular the younger players, and to mentor and assist the other assistant coaches, including an assistant coach.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/demons-win-the-services-of-craig/story-e6frg7mf-1226152243925|title=Demons win the services of Craig|first=Greg|last=Denham|work=The Australian|date=30 September 2011}}</ref>

Despite the off-season acquisitions of several experienced players, such as [[Shannon Byrnes]], [[Tom Gillies]], [[Chris Dawes (Australian footballer)|Chris Dawes]] and [[David Rodan]], the Demons underachieved in the first half of [[2013 AFL season]], managing just 1 win in their first 11 games. As the result of this poor start to the 2013 season, after the Demons' mid-season bye on 17 June 2013, the Demons' senior coach, [[Mark Neeld]], was sacked. His sacking came within weeks of the departures of senior Demons' staff members [[Cameron Schwab]] and [[Don McLardy]]. Subsequently, Craig was appointed as the caretaker senior coach of the Demons for the remainder of the 2013 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett blasts AFL for helping to overhaul Melbourne's board|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/former-hawthorn-president-jeff-kennett-blasts-afl-for-helping-to-overhaul-melbournes-board/story-fni5f91b-1226669563751|access-date=2 July 2013|newspaper=Herald Sun|date=25 June 2013}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-17/mark-neeld-sacked-by-demons/4758312|title=Mark Neeld sacked by Melbourne Demons, Neil Craig to take over as interim coach|newspaper=ABC News |date=June 17, 2013|access-date=November 16, 2021}}</ref> Craig coached the Demons for 11 games, managing just 1 win, for a winning percentage of just 9%. Craig left the club after the completion of the 2013 season with former [[Sydney Swans]] premiership senior coach [[Paul Roos (Australian rules footballer)|Paul Roos]] taking over the senior coaching role at the end of the season.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06/roos-announced-as-demons-coach/4940876|title=Paul Roos named Melbourne Demons AFL coach|newspaper=ABC News |date=6 September 2013|access-date=11 March 2022}}</ref>

===Essendon===
On 10 October 2013, Craig was appointed to the newly created role of head of coaching development and strategy at the [[Essendon Football Club]]<ref name="SG">[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/mark-thompson-set-be-named-as-essendon-coach-with-neil-craig-a-possible-sidekick/story-fni5f6kv-1226735678783 "Mark Thompson named Essendon coach as Bombers confirm James Hird won't return to top job in 2014"], ''Herald Sun'', 10 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.</ref> and then on 15 April 2014, he was promoted to the position of General Manager, Performance. In this role Craig oversaw all team performance functions including coaching, development and high performance which meant that the coaching staff reported to him.<ref name=newstructure>{{cite web |url=http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/2014-04-15/dons-announce-new-football-structure |title=Dons announce new football structure |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=15 April 2014 |website=Essendon Football Club |access-date=15 April 2014}}</ref>

===Carlton===
On 30 September 2015, Craig was appointed to [[Brendon Bolton]]'s new coaching panel at the [[Carlton Football Club]], taking on the role of Director of Coaching, Development and Performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carltonfc.com.au/news/2015-09-30/meet-carltons-2016-coaching-panel|title=Meet Carlton's 2016 coaching panel|website=Carltonfc.com.au|date=30 September 2015|access-date=22 December 2015}}</ref> On 14 August 2017, it was announced that he would retire from his career in the football industry at the end of the 2017 season.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.afl.com.au/news/2017-08-14/neil-craig-calls-time-on-his-career-in-football|title=Neil Craig calls time on his career in football |website=AFL.com.au|access-date=2017-09-17}}</ref>

===England rugby union team===
From October 2017, Craig worked as "a consultant for highest performance to look how we operate and see how we can improve" with the [[England national rugby union team]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/eddie-jones-poaches-excarlton-coach-neil-craig-for-england-rugby-job-20171027-gza0gd.html|title=Eddie Jones poaches ex-Carlton coach Neil Craig for England rugby job|date=27 October 2017|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> Areas of focus included leadership, communication and teamwork.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/sport/rugby-union/article/neil-craig-eddie-jones-asked-me-how-can-i-get-better-as-a-coach-2d5jn9tcr|title=Neil Craig: Eddie Jones asked me, 'how can I get better as a coach?'|author=Alex Lowe|date=21 February 2018 |access-date=17 November 2021|via=www.thetimes.co.uk}}</ref> Part of his role was also to be a 'critical friend' to head coach [[Eddie Jones (rugby union)|Eddie Jones]] whom he had worked with previously.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theinnerchief.libsyn.com/123-neil-craig-afl-coach-and-england-rugby-high-performance-manager-on-high-performance-environments-your-north-star-and-decision-making-under-pressure|title=The Inner Chief: 123. Neil Craig, AFL Coach and England Rugby High Performance Manager on High Performance Environments, Your North Star and Decision-Making Under Pressure|website=Theinnerchief.libsyn.com|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> The team reached the final of the 2019 World Cup.

===Gold Coast Suns===
In December 2019, Craig joined the [[Gold Coast Suns]] in a part-time consultancy role for the coaching group. This involved a game day bench role in the 2021 season.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldcoastfc.com.au/news/537483/neil-craig-joins-the-suns|title=Neil Craig joins the SUNS|website=Goldcoastfc.com.au|date=3 December 2019 |access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref>

===Australia rugby union team===
Craig followed Eddie Jones from the English rugby union team to the [[Australia national rugby union team|Wallabies]], holding a similar support role in 2023.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theroar.com.au/2023/02/22/world-cup-blow-for-wallabies-as-highly-respected-assistant-joins-english-heavyweights/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=www.theroar.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-18 |title=Eddie Jones drops final insult on Wallabies, Australian rugby |url=https://www.espn.com.au/rugby/story/_/id/39549462/eddie-jones-drops-final-insult-wallabies-australian-rugby |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=ESPN.com |language=en}}</ref> 

==Head coaching record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Home and Away Season !! colspan="4"|Finals
|-
!Won!!Lost!!Drew!! Win % !!Position!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
![[Adelaide Football Club|ADE]]||[[2004 AFL season|2004]]
||4{{refn|Craig took over as interim head coach after [[Gary Ayres]] resigned following round 13 with a record of 4–9,  leading the Crows to a 4–5 record and earning the job full-time. Thus, the first 13 games are credited to Ayres and the final 9 to Craig.|group="n"|name=2004season}}||5||0||{{winperc|4|5}}||12th out of 16||—||—||—||—
|-! style="background:#fdd;"
![[Adelaide Football Club|ADE]]||[[2005 AFL season|2005]]
||17||5||0||{{winperc|17|5|0}}||'''1st out of 16'''||1||2||.333|| <small>'''Lost to [[West Coast Eagles|West Coast]] in [[2005 AFL finals series|Preliminary Final]]'''</small>
|-! style="background:#fdd;"
![[Adelaide Football Club|ADE]]||[[2006 AFL season|2006]]
||16||6||0||{{winperc|16|6}}||'''2nd out of 16'''||1||1||.500||<small>'''Lost to [[West Coast Eagles|West Coast]] in [[2006 AFL finals series|Preliminary Final]]'''</small>
|-! style="background:#fdd;"
![[Adelaide Football Club|ADE]]||[[2007 AFL season|2007]]
||12||10||0||{{winperc|12|10}}||'''8th out of 16'''||0||1||.000||<small>'''Lost to [[2007 Hawthorn Football Club season|Hawthorn]] in [[2007 AFL finals series|Elimination Final]]'''</small>
|-! style="background:#fdd;"
![[2008 Adelaide Football Club season|ADE]]||[[2008 AFL season|2008]]
||13||9||0||{{winperc|13|9}}||'''5th out of 16'''||0||1||.000||<small>'''Lost to [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] in [[2008 AFL finals series|Elimination Final]]'''</small>
|-! style="background:#fdd;"
![[2009 Adelaide Football Club season|ADE]]||[[2009 AFL season|2009]]
||14||8||0||{{winperc|14|8}}||'''5th out of 16'''||1||1||.500||<small>'''Lost to [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] in [[2009 AFL finals series|Semi Final]]'''</small>
|-! 
![[2010 Adelaide Football Club season|ADE]]||[[2010 AFL season|2010]]
||9||13||0||{{winperc|9|13}}||11th out of 16||—||—||—||—
|-! 
![[2011 Adelaide Football Club season|ADE]]||[[2011 AFL season|2011]]
||4{{refn|Craig resigned on 25 July 2011 following a 103-point shellacking at the hands of St Kilda in round 18 which dropped the Crows to 4–12 for the season. Interim coach Mark Bickley coached out the remainder of the season with a 3–3 record. Thus, the first 16 games are credited to Craig and the final six to Bickley.|group="n"|name=2011season}}||12||0||{{winperc|4|12}}||(resigned after R18)||—||—||—||—
|-! 
! colspan="2"|ADE Total||89||68||0||{{winperc|89|68}}|| ||3||6||{{winperc|3|6}}||
|-
![[Melbourne Football Club|MEL]]||[[2013 AFL season|2013]]
||1{{refn|Craig took over as interim head coach after [[Mark Neeld]] was sacked following the Demons' mid-season bye with a record of 1–10,  leading Melbourne to a record of 1–10 across the second half of the season and narrowly avoiding the [[Wooden spoon (award)|wooden spoon]] with a 17th-place finish. Thus, the first 11 games are credited to Neeld and the final 11 to Craig.|group="n"|name=2013season}}||10||0||{{winperc|1|10}}||17th out of 18||—||—||—||—
|-
! colspan="2"|MEL Total||1||10||0||{{winperc|1|10}}|| ||0||0||.000||
|-
! colspan="2"|Total||90||78||0||{{winperc|90|78}}|| ||3||6||{{winperc|3|6}}||
|}

:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://afltables.com/afl/stats/coaches/Neil_Craig.html|title=AFL Tables - Neil Craig - Coaching Record|website=Afltables.com|access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=n}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Commons category}}

==External links==
*{{AustralianFootball}}
*{{AFL Tables coach ID}}

{{1975 Norwood premiership players}}
{{Adelaide Football Club coaches}}
{{Melbourne Football Club coaches}}
{{Allan Jeans award}}
{{1983 South Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1984 South Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1986 South Australia State of Origin players}}
{{1981 VFL interstate draft}}
{{Norwood Football Club coaches}}
{{Sturt Football Club captains}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Neil}}
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from South Australia]]
[[Category:Adelaide Football Club coaches]]
[[Category:Sturt Football Club players]]
[[Category:North Adelaide Football Club players]]
[[Category:Norwood Football Club players]]
[[Category:Norwood Football Club coaches]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian physiologists]]
[[Category:Australian sports scientists]]
[[Category:1956 births]]
[[Category:South Australian Sports Institute alumni]]
[[Category:Melbourne Football Club coaches]]
[[Category:South Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:South Australian State of Origin players]]
[[Category:South Australian Sports Institute coaches]]