Rory Sloane’s decision to stay at Adelaide Crows one of the most significant in club’s history
Rory Sloane’s decision to stay in South Australia and finish his career as a one-club player at the Adelaide Crows cannot be underestimated, writes Chris McDermott
Some moments for a football club are massive, almost life changing.
This week may well be one of those for the Adelaide Football Club.
It is not the first in their 28 year history but with just a little luck it may be just as significant as several others have been.
Rory Sloane’s decision to stay in South Australia and finish his career as a one-club player cannot be underestimated.
In tumultuous times, it would have been easy for Sloane to severe his ties with the Crows and return home to his family in Melbourne as he enters the next phase of his life as a father, a husband and then as a footballer.
To his credit he stayed.
In truth, his football journey would never have been better than it is here in Adelaide.
In pure football terms this was the best decision for him to make.
Let’s hope a Premiership is born from his commitment.
There have been several key moments in the Crows history.
Some good and some not so but all had major impacts on the successes and failures of this club. The 1994 appointment of Robert Shaw was the first - enough said.
The 1996 appointment of Malcolm Blight was the most dramatic.
The club undertook a complete overhaul and success came immediately with premierships in 1997 and 1998.It will be a moment in time difficult to repeat.
In 2012 there was the salary cap breaches that all but brought the club to its knees.
The Crows copped a hefty fine and lost some draft picks.
In 2015 the tragic death of coach Phil Walsh has been the most significant. It always will be as it galvanised a club forever.
Just as Malcolm Blight had done 20 years earlier, Walsh left a mark on this club that will never fade. In his brief time at West Lakes , Walsh raised the bar to a level that will forever be the benchmark of the AFC.
The Crows reached another fork in the road this week.
After months of speculation, Sloane, 28, put his flag in the ground and committed his entire career to the Adelaide Football Club.
The dynamic midfielder had seen almost every other player in a similar position at West Lakes do the complete opposite.
Jack Gunston, Kurt Tippett , Jake Lever and of course Patrick Dangerfield just to name a few.
Sloane was to be next. Even the players were unsure.
A five-year deal will see him retire as one of the greats of this club. A Premiership will rubber-stamp it.
Now, tt is not about salvaging something from the current season, but about planning and more importantly execution of future seasons and future success.
Thursday night’s victory over Geelong was a celebration of Rory’s decision to stay.
A player driven , emotional victory, that can happen once or twice a season.
It proves how much of this game is played above the shoulders.
Get the players in the right head space and anything is possible.
Unfortunately the same goes for the wrong head space and the Crows have been in the wrong head space for most of this season.
It cannot be turned around overnight or with one win.,
The next six weeks should not be outcome focussed but process focussed.
Individual roles and responsibility focussed .
The results ,as they say will take care of themselves.
In simple terms it means forget the scoreboard. Just play the game.
Play every contest on its merits as the most important contest of the game.
You’ll be surprise what can happen.
Contested possessions, clearances and tackles.
All were lost on Thursday night but the game was won.
It’s not just about winning these areas but winning your fair share and winning the key ones in the big moments. The Crows did.
A repeat of their mindset and attitude going into the Geelong game will see a repeat of the result. The same rules must apply to the coaches box.
One in all in.