Adelaide stalwart Tyson Edwards has stunned his AFL club by retiring immediately after being dropped for this weekend's game.

An upset Edwards ended his decorated 320-game career just two days after Crows captain Simon Goodwin announced he would retire at season's end.

The 33-year-old Edwards rejected an appeal by the Crows to keep playing after he was told he was dropped for Adelaide's encounter with St Kilda on Saturday night.

Adelaide's football operations manager Phil Harper said Edwards' decision to quit went against the club's wishes.

"What we ideally want is whether he's in or out, for him to keep playing on," Harper told Adelaide radio station 5AA.

"I suppose because he's on the borderline, he feels `well, where do I really sit?' ... and he decided that maybe it's best to finish up."

The 320-game veteran also declined a tentative offer to have a farewell game at his home ground, AAMI Stadium, in a couple of weeks.

"The coach (Neil Craig) said yes, but I can't 100 per cent guarantee it," Harper said.

"It was said by the coach that he would try to the very best of his ability to provide him one against Fremantle in a couple of weeks time.

"In the end, Tyson decided against that.

"It's not the way I envisaged Tyson going out.

"And I'm sure it's not the way he envisaged going out, being right on the borderline, because you never think such a champ would be on the borderline."

Edwards, a member of Adelaide's premiership sides in 1997 and 1998, felt he was taking the position of a younger player, Harper said.

"We wanted a farewell game, that was our second option - our first option was to keep playing," he said.

"Now he is saying he feels like he's standing in people's way, if he's only on the borderline then he's standing in some young guy's way.

"Whether that is right or wrong, who knows.

"What I'd like to focus on is what a great player he has been. Yeah, this last day or two isn't the greatest, but gee, for 16 years it has been a fantastic ride for him and us."

The prolific onballer was runner-up in the Crows' club champion award three times, and finished third in 2004.

Edwards was not immediately available for comment and will hold a media conference on Friday.

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