Adelaide midfielder Rory Sloane won’t be rushed on his AFL free-agency options
HE’LL be the most in-demand free agent of 2018 but Adelaide superstar Rory Sloane insists he won’t be rushed into a new contract. Vote: Do you think he’ll re-sign?
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CROWS vice-captain Rory Sloane is in no rush to sign a new contract as the elite midfielder enters his free-agency season at Adelaide.
And the 27-year-old Victorian told The Advertiser nothing should be read into his contract talks at West Lakes if negotiations drag into next season.
“I’m not fussed how long it takes,” Sloane said. “I’ve never rushed any of my contracts — and there is not going to be a timeline on this one either.”
FREE AGENTS: THE WANTED MEN IN 2018
Sloane, who returns to Adelaide Oval next weekend for the start of the two-Test AFL International Rules Series with Ireland, is subject to vast and contradictory speculation on his future. He is linked to a contract renewal before Christmas — and taking up free agency to accept a big-dollar offer from a Melbourne-based club, such as St Kilda or Collingwood.
“And all that speculation is so untrue,” Sloane told The Advertiser. “I’ve not thought about free agency. I have a contract with Adelaide next year — and that is all I have on my mind at the moment.”
If Sloane starts the 2018 AFL premiership season still on the free-agency list, he will be subjected to the same pressure that Brownlow Medallist Patrick Dangerfield carried in his last season at Adelaide in 2015 before moving to Geelong.
“There is no way anyone can compare the two situations,” said Sloane dismissing how his 2018 season will play out off the field.
“We both have vastly different circumstances to consider ... and different decisions to make. I will think long and hard about this decision. And I will make this one with (wife) Belinda.”
Sloane returned to Adelaide yesterday — when the Australian squad for the hybrid AFL-Gaelic series — was expanded to 22 after a surfing holiday in the Maldives. He is still carrying the pain from the Crows’ 48-point loss to Richmond in the AFL grand final five weeks ago.
“A waste ... a waste of a good season by picking a bad day to put on a bad game,” Sloane said.
“For the two weeks (after the loss) there time to stew over what happened in the grand final. There was frustration and disappointment — and there still is.
“But you also have to move on — and turn that frustration into lessons to carry into next season.
“What stands out from that grand final experience is how the moment goes so quickly. The game goes so quickly.
“The lesson is not to waste the opportunity, but to make the most of it. And that’s why I am keen to get back to training and make sure we learn from that disappointing performance.”
Sloane will join the Australian IRS squad in training on Thursday. The first Test will be played at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, November 12. It is Sloane’s first opportunity to represent Australia.
“And putting on the green-and-gold Australian jumper means so much to me,” Sloane said. “I’ve always been jealous of others who get to represent Australia, so I absolutely want this opportunity.”
michelangelo.rucci@news.com.au
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