Every one wants to be Adelaide's friend - except Qantas.
But the people of Adelaide did not want to be friends with Qantas, as they chose to fly other carriers. ADL is just a small spoke at the end of CX hub. QF cannot/could not offer the same range of spokes from SIN or HKG compared to CX & SQ. Australia & QF being at the end of the line is a geographic reality. Some to many here seem to forget that.