Adelaide star Taylor Walker on his new role at the Crows, exciting youngsters and whether 2021 will be his last season

Is 2021 the final season for Taylor Walker at the Crows? If it is then Tex hopes his new role at West Lakes can leave a big legacy for the club.

In his 14 pre-seasons so far at Adelaide, Taylor Walker has been a lot of things for the Crows.

The talented youngster from the country when he first came down from Broken Hill, the talismanic key forward when Adelaide began to fire again, and the inspirational captain who nearly took the Crows all the way to premiership glory.

And while many are assuming the end is nigh for the Adelaide goals record-holder and recent member of the 200-game club, Walker has yet another role to play for the Crows in 2021.

“The No.1 thing on what I get judged on is how I perform, but my ability day-to-day to be able to teach and educate these young guys and fast-track their development and get them to a point where they can play consistent AFL footy is what I’m priding myself on this year,” he told the Sunday Mail.

“Now that we don’t have as many coaches I’m now an extension of the coaching group, and help out as much as I can.”

Kayo is your ticket to the best sport streaming Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Taylor Walker offers Ben Davis a hand during a pre-season training session.

So is this a concession by the 30-year-old, who is out of contract come the end of this season, that 2021 is the final year of his playing career in the AFL?

“That will take care of itself,” he said.

“It’s up top me to perform and if I can do that and help the club head back in the right direction and back up the ladder, that’s all I’m worried about.

“And leave a legacy with the younger guys and help them develop into consistent performers for the footy club.

“That’s all I’m worried about ... my contract will take care of itself.”

Like the rebuilding Crows in 2020, who won three of their last four games to give fans some hope, Walker ended last season on a high — becoming the Crows’ all-time leading goalkicker in their final game of the year against Richmond with his 441st goal for the club to surpass idol Tony Modra.

Walker also finished as the club’s leading goalkicker for the second year running, even though he and senior coach Matthew Nicks were forced to defend his spot in the side at times last season.

Taylor Walker becomes Adelaide’s all-time leading goalkicker. Picture: Sarah Reed

But the winning haul was 15.9, and claiming the club’s first ever wooden spoon is something Walker doesn’t want to experience again.

“Individual stuff, that pat on the back stuff that doesn’t really bother me,” he said.

“It is where we finish, and that (finishing bottom) really hit home for me.

“I don’t want to be down the bottom of the ladder so we need to fast track as much as we can and develop our young guys as quick as we can to get back up the ladder and be back where our footy club belongs, and that is playing finals footy.”

Can the bounce back be quick for the rebuilding Crows, who have now gone three seasons out of finals action since losing to Richmond in the 2017 Grand Final?

“Time will tell,” Walker said.

“We are doing everything we can to give ourselves the best opportunity to go back up the ladder, so if we can continue with the development of our younger players I have no doubt we can bounce back up the ladder quicker than most people expect.”

Of particular excitement to Walker is the ownership the Crows youngsters have taken of the task that awaits them.

“For a bloke who has been here for 14 years to see the young guys driving the football club, it is quite refreshing for me and I’m really enjoying it,” he said.

Taylor Walker is chaired off after his 200th game for the Crows.

Even those who have been at West Lakes for a matter of months, such as No.2 draft pick Riley Thilthorpe.

“He (Thilthorpe) has come in and set the bar even higher than it has been. He’s been awesome,” Walker said.

“James Rowe has come in and is very experienced for his age, he played a final last year with Woodville and then you get the guys like Tariek (Newchurch) who come into the forward line. “Lachie Murphy will get even better this year, Fog (Darcy Fogarty) has come back in great condition and we are going to see Elliott Himmelberg and Shane McAdam rise again, so it is exciting for our footy club.”

If Walker does nothing else in 2021, then at least he may have played a big part in Fogarty — pick 12 in 2017 — potentially finally getting his body to a standard that can help realise his potential, having done plenty of work with his heir apparent in the off-season.

“He’s done a lot of great work to get where he is. Hopefully he can have a really good pre-season, which he has started to, and he will reap the rewards for that during the season,” Walker said.

“I think Fog is now getting an understanding that an off-season isn’t your off-season, it’s your pre pre-season. It sets him up to have a really good pre-season and gives him the best opportunity to have a good season.

“He has certainly done that, gone away and done the work, so I think our fans are going to be really happy with what Fog can produce for us this year.”

Darcy Fogarty talks with Taylor Walker at a summer session.

But while there is going to be a big focus on teaching the younger guys for Walker this season, it isn’t coming at the expense of his own playing aspirations in 2021.

The knee issue he had last year is gone, and an approach of “smarter not harder” this pre-season has Walker confident about how he can go in 2021.

“I had a little bit of knee soreness, but I’m good as I can be and I’m looking forward to having a good year,” he said.

“Still sneak in a couple of chockie almonds and raspberry chocolates, but I just have to be as light as I can be, play at the weight I did last year and you just have to look after your body.

“The thing I’m going to focus on I’m going to be proactive in my recovery, looking after my body rather than being reactive.

“If I do that then I will stay on the park as long as I can.”

Nicks has had another pre-season to implement his game plan, the youngsters have another year under their belts and the new faces are already impressing at West Lakes.

So what can Crows fans expect from last year’s wooden spooners?

“We are going to see some exciting kids debut, we are going to see the emergence of some guys that played last year, and we are going to see some older guys play some good footy as well,” Walker said.

And what about Adelaide’s No.13?

“I’ll just rock up and enjoy every day,” he said.