Rory Sloane only envisaged staying in Adelaide for two years after being drafted, before going on to play 200 games at the Crows
Adelaide captain Rory Sloane is set to play his 200th game for the Crows this weekend. But the Victorian has revealed he initially planned to return home shortly after he was drafted.
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Rory Sloane first thought he would spend just two years in Adelaide before heading back to Melbourne and playing the rest of his footy there.
Now approaching 12-years as a Crow, Sloane will lead out the club – for the first time as solo captain – in his 200th game for Adelaide against Sydney on Saturday.
Ahead of the milestone match, the 30-year-old revealed he originally thought he would want out of Adelaide at the first opportunity after being recruited by the Crows with the 44th pick of the 2008 national draft.
“When I first got drafted I remember because I was pretty close with Hamish Ogilvie, our head recruiter, that he was very keen and I wasn’t so keen,” Sloane said.
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“And I remember when my name got called out to go to Adelaide the first thought was excitement to get drafted, and then I thought ‘Adelaide, I’ll probably play two years and then come back and play the rest of my career in Melbourne’.
“And here I am 12 years later and I will finish my career here ... that was just an 18-year-old boy talking.”
Sloane was coveted by numerous Victorian clubs in 2018, but instead signed a five-year contract with the Crows.
His milestone game comes at the end of a week like no other for the AFL, as the coronavirus pandemic nearly scuttled Round 1.
As a board member of the AFL Players Association, Sloane became a key figure in what the players themselves would do in light of the pandemic.
He said the decision to play on despite concerns was to help minimise the financial impact the pandemic will have on the industry and the people it employs.
“Everyone has to sacrifice something little if we are to get through this together as an industry … you are going to see everyone taking a little hit, which will be hard on people inside clubs, but the health and wellbeing of kids and family is more important for me,” Sloane said.
“(I) won’t be able to see some of my family for six months because it is too risky to fly.
“There are always a couple of concerns, I have a little boy (Sonny) that is six months old and I don’t know how it affects little kids.”
As the AFL deliberated first with clubs and then its commission on Wednesday as to whether it held Round 1 as planned, Sloane headed to the surf at Waitpinga Beach to clear his head.
He’s still uncertain whether he can have any family at Adelaide Oval on Saturday for his 200th.
“I would love more than anything for my family to be there,” he said.
As for fans, Sloane hoped he could do something down the track – when spectators are allowed into stadiums – to thank them for their support.
While the coronavirus pandemic has raged on, the Crows have been finetuning their game, despite two losses in their two pre-season games.
“We’ve continued to train on our contest and really drive hard on our defensive part of the game, but some parts of that game (their second against Gold Coast in Noarlunga) we found that we could have used the ground to our advantage and stayed a bit more in the corridor and go a bit more direct to goal,” he said.