Tex lets actions do the talking

BROWNLOW Medallist Mark Ricciuto is the fans’ captain at Adelaide. Simon Goodwin is the coach’s skipper after Neil Craig declared: “(He is the) greatest captain this football club has ever had.” And Taylor Walker is the players’ captain, a theme the late Phil Walsh noted before he became the Crows’ senior coach in 2015.

BROWNLOW Medallist Mark Ricciuto is the fans’ captain at Adelaide.

Simon Goodwin is the coach’s skipper after Neil Craig declared: “(He is the) greatest captain this football club has ever had.”

And Taylor Walker is the players’ captain, a theme the late Phil Walsh noted before he became the Crows’ senior coach in 2015.

*** This is just one of the many stories which feature in your 20-page 2017 Adelaide Crows season preview magazine, in the Sunday Mail this weekend. ***

This vision – that stands as a living legacy to Walsh – was reinforced last year when Walker’s peers across the 18-team national league hailed the Crows key forward as the AFL’s best captain.

Walker’s reputation outside the Adelaide Football Club was established with his stoic leadership of a resilient playing group dealing with the crushing emotional turmoil of Walsh’s death on July 3, 2015.

Internally, the praise is true to all that Walsh read in the way Walker played for his side rather than himself – and the response he generated on the field from his team-mates.

Adelaide Crows’ Taylor Walker leads the team out. Picture Sarah Reed

“The things that stands out with ‘Tex’ is he is an incredibly caring man,” says fellow Crows forward Tom Lynch, a new member of Walker’s six-man leadership group with Rory Sloane, Daniel Talia, Scott Thompson and Eddie Betts.

“Among this playing group he has a great ability to build relationships with everyone at this football club, not just the playing group but everyone from the administration to the team staff to the players.

“And he leads by example on the field with his performance. He is a great captain, not just recognised within the four walls of this club but also externally. We are very lucky to have him as a captain of this club.”

Months after being put on a pedestal as the AFL’s best captain Walker remains more focused on his job - as a skipper and forward - reflecting on accolades or high praise.

“You don’t have time to reflect, even if you do feel proud and very honoured,” Walker told The Advertiser.

The title of “players’ captain” does sit well with “Tex”.

“It’s important that your team-mates are there with you; when you step out on the field that you must have 21 guys right behind you,” Walker said.

“As a captain, I want to lead by my actions; I want to be seen playing my role for the team, to be very approachable in the community and having earned respect from my team-mates and our opponents.

“And I am still learning, learning a lot,” adds Walker, who is far more comfortable as Adelaide’s captain than when Walsh put the task before him late in 2014. “This is now my 10th year (in the AFL) and I’ve been learning from some great leaders, both captains and leaders at our club. You don’t stop learning - or adapting.”

Taylor Walker talks to his team before the first bounce. Picture Sarah Reed

Sloane draws comparisons between Walker and another key forward to command the title of “AFL best captain”, Brisbane premiership hero Jonathan Brown (2007 and 2009).

“You hear stories of Jonathan Brown being really vocal and demanding of his team-mates - and that’s what I think of ‘Tex’,” says Sloane. “He’s that big power forward who knows what he wants from every player - and he knows how to get that from them.

“He does lead by example. I’ve seen where ‘Tex’ has stood up in big games. His ability to lead in critical moments is one of his best attributes.”

Ultimately, Walker – particularly if he leads the Crows to the AFL flag the club has chased since the last in 1998 – could become Adelaide’s favourite captain in the eyes of the players, fans and the coaches.

He is Adelaide’s seventh captain on the club’s honour board that across 27 years has been blessed in esteemed skippers carrying resumes loaded with Brownlow and Magarey Medals, Australian Football Hall of Fame inductions and All-Australian honours.

Walker joins Ricciuto (2005 and 2006) as the only Adelaide captains to be acknowledged by their AFL colleague as the game’s greatest skipper in a league season. To have that standing in just his second year as a club captain, reaffirms Walsh’s vision – and dismisses Walker’s original uncertainty towards the role.