The inside story of why Rory Sloane re-signed with the Crows for the rest of his career
THE last thing Rory Sloane did before informing Adelaide he had agreed to a five-year contract extension with the club was also the hardest. Reece Homfray reveals the full story behind the Crow’s decision.
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THE last thing Rory Sloane did before informing Adelaide he had agreed to a five-year contract extension with the club was also the hardest.
The deal to reject AFL free agency and stay with the Crows until 2023 was 99 per cent done on Tuesday night, but Sloane and his pregnant wife Belinda wanted to first call their parents to tell them they weren’t coming home - just yet.
“The toughest part of the whole process was calling the families,” Sloane said.
“We know they’ll be there for us but that’s what’s made this decision so hard, to have them back there (Victoria) while we’re bringing up our own family here.
“Bringing up a child away from home is going to be a challenge but one that we’re up for.
“You go around in circles a few times, that’s been us.
“It has been stressful but it got to a stage where we were like ‘yep we know, we’ve got a few things in place, we know the support is here and we love it here.
“We have unbelievable families, great support from them, and all I want as a husband is to make sure my wife is happy and we’ve got a happy life and we’ve been incredibly happy here for a long time.”
A CROW FOR LIFE
Once the family phone calls had been made, Sloane gave his manager Alex McDonald the green light to give Crows’ list manager Justin Reid the good news.
Confirmation came at 8.40am on Wednesday via phone and email that Adelaide's vice captain, All-Australian and heart-and-soul player would be a Crow for life.
And with that, a deal nine months in the making, was done.
Informal talks between Sloane, 28, and the club about his future started last October just before the players went on leave following the grand final loss to Richmond.
The last deal Sloane signed was for three years in 2015 meaning at the end of 2018 he would become a restricted free agent, but the club never panicked.
Talks resumed towards the end of pre-season and became more regular as the season went on, and the Crows always remained confident that he would stay.
Sloane consistently said he loved the footy club and the city, there were pictures on social media from the couple in a baby room in their Adelaide home, and it’s understood he did not want his contract saga to drag on until the end of the year.
NEVER FOR SURE
Yet until he signed, it was never for sure, and the longer it went the more nervous the fanbase became and the louder the noise from interstate media that he was coming home.
Complicating the process was his lisfranc injury which sidelined him for 10 weeks so most of his attention went into getting back on the field, which he did against West Coast two weeks ago.
Adelaide did not put a deadline in place and while hopeful of a decision, never demanded an answer by the mid-season bye when players had their individual meetings with the coach and football department.
After the Crows played Richmond at the MCG on Friday night, Sloane spent the weekend with Belinda’s family.
There was no meeting between Sloane or his manager and the club on the weekend but talks between the parties continued on Monday and intensified on Tuesday ahead of the final decision.
Crows players were told of Sloane’s signature in a meeting at Adelaide Oval just minutes before training on Wednesday morning and erupted with joy, breaking into a chant of “five more, five more”.
One senior Crow told The Advertiser that prior to that moment the playing group genuinely did not know what his decision would be or that he had made it, that’s how private it had been kept.
CONFIDENCE NEVER WAVERED
Family was at the centre of Sloane’s decision but he had also become so attached to the football club after 171 games in 10 years that a family and home away from home is what the AFC had become.
“100 per cent. 10 years here and the last few have been unbelievable. I love the direction this club is heading,” Sloane said.
“The whole way along I’ve loved this footy club, they’ve helped me mature in a lot of ways and really define myself as a footballer and this footy club means a lot to me and the people in it.
“This year has been tough for a few different reasons but my confidence never wavered in what we’re capable of achieving.
“I’ve only got one goal in footy and that’s to get back to where we were last year and go one step further.”
Although it’s not known, it’s estimated Sloane’s contract would be worth about $800,000 a year. And while he did not elaborate on what options he had on the table from rival clubs, it’s widely accepted that he would have been offered more by rival clubs but turned them down. Hawthorn and North Melbourne were reportedly the front-runners.
“You’ve got to take everything into account,” Sloane said.
“You’d be naive not to understand everything that goes into these decisions but it was a long process that we thought through thoroughly and we know we’re at the right decision.”
LOYALTY IS NOT DEAD
Crows great and board member Mark Ricciuto – and AFL legend Leigh Matthews – both said Sloane’s decision was proof loyalty in the game was not dead.
“They’ve been speaking about their future in Adelaide for quite some time so it’s a great announcement for not only them and the footy club but for footy to say loyalty is still there in some shape and form,” Ricciuto said.
“It’s a huge boost, not much different to when Tex Walker did last year or Rory Laird and Brodie Smith and Tom Lynch, we’ve had a lot of big-names sign in the last two years so Rory Sloane has just topped it off nicely.”
Matthews Tweeted: “While it is a human right for players to move to the club of their choice for whatever reason, personally I applaud the stayers, those who have the resilience and strength of character to remain one club players, so very well done to Rory Sloane”.
Coach Don Pyke described it as a “great day for the club”.
“You never assume but I think the conversations we’ve had with Rory and Belinda over the last six months, and understanding they’re starting a family at the end of the year, we recognised as a couple footy is a priority but support is equally as important,” Pyke said.
“So it’s been how can we help in that space. I never questioned his passion and love for the footy club and the playing group so it’s working through that process.
“The quality of the individual is what made me confident and that’s why he’s such an important part of the footy club, to secure not only a great player but a guy from a standards and moral viewpoint brings so much to our group.
“But either way if he decided he didn’t want to be at the footy club he’s still going to be Rory Sloane, the same guy, and we’re grateful he’s made that decision but we would support him either way.”
Adelaide chief executive Andrew Fagan said the club knew it would take time for Sloane to make his decision and never rushed it.
“Even though it may seem strange that the process has taken a number of months, Rory’s narrative always stayed the course,” Fagan said.
“He and Belinda are deeply invested in the club and South Australia but we understood there were family considerations to work through and that it was going to take some time.
“He needed space to find that level of comfort to make his decision.
“We often say people are of great character and true professionals on and off the field but it’s hard to think of someone who exemplifies it more than Rory Sloane has.
“That would be shared by our fans and the vast majority of AFL fans more broadly.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au