Adelaide Crows teammates are confident Rory Sloane will not be rubbed out for Dangerfield collision
WHAT was going through Rory Sloane’s mind before and during his clash with Patrick Dangerfield?
ADELAIDE vice-captain Rory Sloane has conceded he came out worse for wear after his eye-raising collision with former teammate Patrick Dangerfield in the second quarter of the Crows’ preliminary final against Geelong.
Sloane, who was playing in his first match since appendix surgery, said he hadn’t paid a lot of thought to a possible suspension after Dangerfield stayed on the ground in the moments after the clash.
But as he came to terms with the realisation his club was preparing for an AFL Grand Final he conceded the collision had been brutal.
“That hurt,” Sloane said. “I did my best to stand up but he’s got such a strong body.
“He’s such an unbelievable player and obviously I’m great mates with him. I respect him so much and love the way he goes and I feel for him now.
“We both when in but that’s the way we both play our footy and that’s what I love about his footy, too.”
Sloane outlined on Melbourne radio station SEN his thought process before, during and after the clash.
Teammates Taylor Walker and Tom Lynch both said they thought it was just a football accident. Sloane seemed to be pragmatic about his fate and not overly concerned.
“At the start I was like ‘I’ve got to tackle him’,” Sloane said. “And when you look at Danger – and I’ve played with him and now against him many times – I was like ‘this is going to be a hard man to tackle and stop’.
“Then once he handballed I just tried to intercept the handball, basically, and then we just collided.
“I don’t really remember too much about the collision, I just remember pulling up a bit sore last night. My face, my neck, my chest is all a bit sore.
“It’s out of my control now and we’ll see what happens.”
In a radio interview yesterday, Walker cheekily suggested Dangerfield had looked like he had been “snipered” by somebody on a roof walk of Adelaide Oval when he stayed down after the collision. When asked if Sloane was now preparing to play in a Grand Final on Triple M, Walker said: “Why wouldn’t he be?”
Lynch didn’t think Sloane had anything to worry about from the match review panel.
“It was two fierce competitors, those two ... for both of them to get up was quite incredible,” Lynch said. “Rory’s obviously a freak but that was an important contest for the night.
“For what he’s been through over the last few of weeks especially and then to have a moment like that. It’s quite iconic.”