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Pump them up, then pop the balloon: Bickley's issue with the media
Connor Scanlon • April 23rd, 2025 5:00 pm
Adelaide Crows champion Mark Bickley has urged the media to stop overhyping young AFL talent, warning that the same pundits who praise players like Max Michalanney could just as quickly turn on them.
Speaking on SEN SA Breakfast with Jarrod Walsh, Bickley criticised the growing voice declaring Michalanney’s first 50 games among the best ever.
“I saw something on social media where there was the suggestion that Max Michalanney, his 51 games had gone really under the radar and could be up there with the best first 50 games of anyone,” Walsh said.
That message was loudened on The Agenda Setters, where Kane Cornes labelled Michalanney a “1-on-1 defensive beast”.
“He can intercept the ball, this guy is 21 years of age and we should be speaking about him so much more than what we already are,” Cornes said.
“Only four players in the competition have been involved in eight contests and not lost a single one.
“He is a gun, and that’s Max Michalanney.”
But Bickley wasn’t buying into the hype.
“Is anyone else underwhelmed by that stat?” he asked.
“I like that he’s never been beaten, but we’ve played six games and he’s been in eight 1-on-1 contests.
“It’s hardly the Great Wall of China.”
Despite that criticism, Bickley made it clear he rated the young defender highly.
“I love Max.”
“Crows fans have known about Max Michalanney.
“(He’s) been unbelievably good for the last three years.”
But he warned the hype was getting out of control.
“People want to go from not knowing what he looks like if you walked past him in the street, to now wanting to make him the All-Australian defender,” Bickley said.
“This stuff around the best 51 games you’ve ever seen, all that does is it builds him up.
“Tony Modra kicked 129 goals in his first 30 games.”
Walsh stepped in on Bickley’s criticism and asked, “Are you protecting Max, so we don’t get too excited for him?”
“Not just Max, but I hate this whole thing,” Bickley responded.
“We pump these guys up so much, (for example) Harley Reid last year.
“They’re like a balloon, they get big, big, big, they’re so good, they’re so good.
“Then the minute he has a bad game and loses two 1-on-1 contests in a game, we’ll get the big pin out and burst the balloon.
“So, it bursts and say ‘Oh Michalanney’s terrible today!’”
Bickley’s message to the AFL media was loud and clear.
“I just don’t think we need to go over the top… (We need) a little bit of balance,” Bickley said.
“He’s a really good player who’s 21, he’s a first-round draft pick that’s been amazing for Adelaide, and will continue to get better.
“But to say his first 50 games have been as good as anyone in the history of the game’s first 51 games, that’s over the top.”
