Adelaide list analysis: Taylor Walker’s contract negotiations for next season are yet to begin
Taylor Walker has been outstanding for Adelaide since returning from his ban. But where are his contract talks at? Get the latest on the 10 out of contract Crows.
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Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker is still expected to re-sign with the club despite contract talks not yet starting.
Crows chief executive Tim Silvers last week flagged the former captain, who was without a deal for next season, would soon be offered an extension but it was understood those negotiations had not yet began.
It is expected discussions will start soon and there is confidence they will work themselves out within the next month.
Although he is 32, Walker remains one of the Crows’ most important players and their best-performing forward.
The club’s all-time leading goalkicker has booted 21 majors from his eight games this season and is averaging a career-high 16.25 disposals.
Walker said he spoke last week with Silvers and he was keen to stay at the club.
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The key forward said his body was healthy and he still loved playing.
“I spoke to the club at the start of the year and knew it was going to be a mid-season chat,” Walker told Triple M.
“I’m comfortable.
“Now it’s up to Dogga (manager Michael Doughty) and the club to get something sorted.”
Walker is among 10 Crows out of contract at season’s end.
Like Walker, utility Mitch Hinge and small forward James Rowe are regular members of Adelaide’s 22 yet are awaiting new deals.
The Crows have not put a deal on the table to them and they look like they may have to wait to know what the future holds.
Hinge has played nine games this season after featuring just once last year due to a shoulder injury.
Rowe has lined up in 10 matches in 2022, kicking seven goals.
Key forward Elliott Himmelberg and tall defender Billy Frampton are among the other Crows coming out of contract.
Adelaide re-signed fellow forward Lachlan Gollant to a two-year deal on Wednesday, putting a further squeeze on list spots.
WHICH CROWS PLAYERS ARE OUT OF CONTRACT?
Matt Turner
Adelaide will exit its bye with a 4-8 record, three games outside the top eight.
This is the third year of a rebuild under coach Matthew Nicks and there have been signs of growth mixed with disappointing patches, including a five-game losing streak.
After adding Jordan Dawson from Sydney last trade period, it will be interesting to see how hard the Crows try to lure more uncontracted players from other clubs.
WHERE THEY ARE AT
Adelaide has tied down much of its squad already for 2023 or beyond.
The Crows have just 10 players without deals for next year, one of whom is mid-season recruit Brett Turner.
This does not give Adelaide a lot of list flexibility, unless it plans to ship some guys via trade, but does ensure key members of its squad are off the market.
Among them are the club’s top two draft picks from last year, Josh Rachele and Jake Soligo.
They have both started their careers brightly and have been re-signed until the end of 2025.
The club’s highest ever pick, Riley Thilthorpe, is also contracted to then.
Three years into its rebuild under Nicks, Adelaide is seeking top-end talent, either via the draft or from other clubs, to accelerate its push up the ladder.
So long as they fit with the club’s list profile.
The Crows are again the youngest and most inexperienced side in the competition, entering the season with an average age of 23.4 years and games count of 46.7.
Dawson, 25, was an ideal target last October.
The club’s highest-profiled player out of contract is its all-time leading goalkicker and former captain Taylor Walker.
Rival teams had been linked to him, but Crows chief executive Tim Silvers last week said Adelaide wanted him to stay and a new contract was not far away.
It seemed unlikely he would finish his career anywhere else.
Also without deals beyond this year are talls Elliott Himmelberg and Billy Frampton, who have shown flashes but not performed well consistently.
Does Adelaide move on from one or both?
Adelaide also has decisions to make on forward James Rowe after two years respectively on the list.
Utility Mitch Hinge should receive a new deal.
Untried goalsneak Tariek Newchurch not only offers the Crows something different – lightning speed, as well as run and carry – but has improved enough to suggest he deserves an AFL opportunity soon.
Adelaide remains hopeful wingman Paul Seedsman, who is contracted for 2023 but on the inactive list as he endures lingering concussion symptoms, will return to football next year.
WHO’S OUT OF CONTRACT
James Borlase, Ben Davis, Billy Frampton, Elliott Himmelberg, Mitch Hinge, Tariek Newchurch, Patrick Parnell, James Rowe, Brett Turner, Taylor Walker
WHO’S ELIGIBLE FOR FREE AGENCY
Davis, Hinge, Walker
THREE PLAYERS THE CROWS WILL BE LOOKING AT – OR SHOULD LOOK AT
Griffin Logue – Adelaide needs a key defender and the Fremantle 24-year-old is in the right age bracket for the Crows. Jordon Butts and Tom Doedee have battled valiantly, but they need help. Frampton and Nick Murray are squad players, rather than first-choice backmen, while the Fischer McAsey, the No. 6 pick from the 2019 draft, is now lining up as a forward. Plenty of clubs are reportedly interested in West Australian Logue and Adelaide has to put itself in the mix. If not Logue, could South Australian teammate Brennan Cox be an option? Cox, a swingman, is contracted until the end of 2024.
Aaron Francis – The 24-year-old has played just 54 games in seven seasons since joining the Bombers with pick 6 in the 2015 national draft. Form, injury and a mental health breaks have stopped him from featuring more often, but returning to SA may produce his best footy. Capable of playing in attack or defence and regarded for his marking prowess as a junior, Francis is coming out of contract.
Jason Horne-Francis – The Crows have a nice crop of inside midfielders – although they can use more height in there – but polish and pace are greater areas of need. While someone like Sydney’s Ollie Florent could appeal, No. 1 pick Horne-Francis putting contract talks on hold should have pricked the ears of Adelaide’s recruiting staff. North Melbourne will be desperate to keep the talented South Australian, but if Horne-Francis indicates at season’s end that he plans to leave the struggling club when his contract runs out at the end of 2023, what do the Kangaroos do? The Crows tried to trade pick 6 and two future first-rounders to secure the explosive midfielder/forward before last year’s draft so might have another crack, even if they knew their chances were much better in 12 months. Collingwood South Australian Caleb Poulter is another hybrid midfielder in the right profile for the Crows and, at 193cm, has the size Adelaide needs.
THREE CROWS THAT A RIVAL CLUB WILL BE LOOKING AT
Matt Crouch – After not playing a game last season, the Victorian midfielder inked a two-year deal keeping him at West Lakes until the end of 2023. But now that Crouch, 27, has overcome his groin and hip issues, will a Melbourne-based club challenging for the finals try to lure him? He has bought a house in Adelaide but the Crows need to get more games into some younger on-ballers like Luke Pedlar, so it may be a good move for both parties.
Fischer McAsey – Like Francis, parting ways and returning home might be the best thing for McAsey to get the most out of his career. Family circumstances, form and injury, including a stress fracture in his right leg during pre-season, have challenged the 21-year-old, who has not played at AFL level since 2020. He is contracted until the end of next season but his development seems to have stalled.
Lachie Sholl – The 22-year-old wingman has played 10 games this season and been linked to the Blues. Although Carlton is seeking an outside midfielder during the trade period, Adelaide lacks polish so doubt it will want to give up a player who offers it. Sholl – the son of ex-Blue Brad Sholl – is contracted until the end of 2024.
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