AFL 2021: Suspended Adelaide forward Taylor Walker a no-show at end-of-season event
Adelaide is unsure whether Taylor Walker will attend its best-and-fairest after the suspended Crow was a no-show at another end-of-season event.
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Suspended Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker has not attended a Crows’ post-season lunch and remains uncertain to be at their club champion awards on Saturday night.
The Crows gathered at Plant 4 in Bowden on Wednesday, but Walker was a no show, three weeks after his six-game ban for racially vilifying North Adelaide player Robbie Young.
Although Walker has been catching up with teammates and staff, the former captain’s attendance at the best and fairest is to be confirmed.
Adelaide is also yet to determine if the 31-year-old, who is contracted until the end of next season, will play for the club again.
Walker has an award to collect on Saturday night after leading the Crows’ goalkicking with 48 majors this season.
On Monday, Adelaide skipper Rory Sloane said he was hopeful Walker would be there.
“It all comes down to if Taylor feels comfortable and if the whole footy club (does), there’s a lot more to play out than just Tex,” Sloane said.
Wednesday’s lunch was also an opportunity for the Crows to farewell departing players and staff.
Veterans Daniel Talia and forward Tom Lynch have not had their contracts renewed, while experienced midfielder David Mackay has retired.
Development coach and ex-Adelaide player Brent Reilly is also expected to exit West Lakes.
Wingman Paul Seedsman said Wednesday was a good opportunity for the Crows to spend time together outside the club and celebrate the significant contributions of those who were moving on.
“It’s a chance to get around them, enjoy each other’s company and have a couple of drinks,” Seedsman said.
Reflecting on the season, All-Australian squad member Seedsman said the club, which climbed from bottom in 2020 to 15th this year, beating top-four teams Geelong and Melbourne on the way, had improved, even though it did not win as many games as it hoped.
“We challenged a lot of the really good sides so I think we’ve laid a really good foundation,” he said.
Seedsman expected Rory Laird, Ben Keays and Jordon Butts to be in the mix to claim the Malcolm Blight Medal on Saturday night.
TALIA TO MISS CROWS B&F AS MOVE TO RIVAL CLUB LOOMS
Daniel Talia will miss Adelaide’s Club Champion award as he ramps up his search for a new club.
Talia took home the Crows gold jacket in 2014.
But in wake of the 29-year-old not being offered a new contract by the Crows, as they continue their rebuild, Talia said he would skip Saturday’s event.
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“I probably won’t go, to be honest. It is time for me to move on and it will probably be one that I will stay away from,” he said on SEN SA.
“It’s not that I hold anything against the club, it’s just that I have to move on and I have to train and still do all these things.
“I’m still trying to keep fit and drinking and being around those events aren’t probably the best way to go about it
“I think for me personally as well I just need to move on from the organisation.”
TRADE SPECIAL: 21 PLAYERS WHO COULD CHANGE CLUBS
Talia didn’t play any footy this year because of foot surgery and resulting complications.
The dual All-Australian full-back is still hopeful of continuing his career at another club and has been getting interest from clubs.
“I won’t name who, but there is definitely some interest, which is nice,” he said.
Covid-19 restrictions meant that Talia, who came to the Crows in 2009, was only able to say goodbye to a small number of Adelaide fans on Sunday night — and hasn’t really been able to see the playing group for weeks.
“It was a bit bizarre, because of the Covid restrictions I couldn’t get out at halftime or after the game,” he said.
“It has been a weird week.
“Probably a bit disappointing that I haven’t been able to get around that main group for a couple of weeks now because they are in that bubble.”
IS TEX PART OF CROWS’ FUTURE?
— Jason Phelan
Matthew Nicks is supremely confident Adelaide is on track to compete for finals sooner rather than later, but the second-year coach is less certain if Taylor Walker will play a role in the Crows’ bid to push up the ladder next season.
Adelaide finished a disappointing 2021 campaign with a 44-point win over wooden spooners North Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
It was the third match Walker has missed after the former skipper was slapped with a six-game ban for making a racist comment about North Adelaide’s Robbie Young.
Walker took some time away from West Lakes after issuing a public apology via video with Young appearing alongside him.
Speaking after the season-ending victory, Nicks could not offer a definitive answer when asked about Walker’s future.
“It’s a really complex situation for us to work through,” Nicks said.
“I have met with Taylor, I have been able to sit down with him, we will continue to do that.
“We will continue to talk through what is best. How do we look after our people? How do we look after Taylor? How do we hopefully at some point integrate Taylor back into our squad?
“He’s met with our playing group as well and we’re making some really good ground in that space.
“These are things we will work through.
“I can’t comment for Taylor and where he sits at the moment. I sat down with him and we have spoken through a number of different scenarios and how he’s going.
“At this point of time we will continue to work through that, (but) it’s not something I can give you a definitive answer on at the moment.”
Walker, 31, signed a one-year contract extension for the 2022 season before the racism controversy erupted.
The Crows finished the season in 15th spot with a 7-15 win-loss record following the victory that proved a fitting farewell for outgoing veterans Tom Lynch and David Mackay.
A 3-1 start to the season and a tight win over ladder leaders Melbourne were the highlights of a campaign that was derailed in a barren 13-game stretch during which the Crows managed just two wins.
Despite that disappointing run, Nicks feels the club has firmly established a DNA based on embracing the contest and playing front-half footy.
Club director Mark Ricciuto told Fox Footy he believes Adelaide can push for finals next season “with a bit of luck”, but Nicks was a little more guarded when asked about the prospect of finals in 2022.
“That’s the danger question,” he said.
“We would love to play and compete in finals – that’s what we’re trying to get to, that’s why we’re laying a foundation at the moment that we hope is strong enough to hold up not just for one year where we’re trying to dribble our way into a finals series and then be knocked out straight away … we’re looking at sustained success.
“We’re looking at a group that can perform week in and week out and will fight out for finals year after year.
“We’d love to think we’ve fast-tracked that development and we’ve seen that growth throughout the season.
“That’s just a matter of time and I can’t give you exactly that timeline.
“We’ve seen it takes clubs different amounts of time but where we are at the moment we’re building a really strong group of people.
“I’m confident that we will challenge sooner rather than later.”
CROWS TAKE DRAFT HIT AFTER EMOTION-CHARGED WIN
Adelaide has farewelled departing veterans Tom Lynch and David Mackay in fine style, ending a disappointing season on a high note with a convincing 44-point win over North Melbourne on Sunday.
Despite claiming their first wooden spoon since 1972 in round 22, the Kangaroos had been playing an encouraging brand of football since the halfway mark of the season. But David Noble’s men were largely outplayed by the Crows in a first half that set up the 13.20 (98) to 8.6 (54) result at Adelaide Oval.
The inaccurate Crows led by 17 points at the first break, 24 points at halftime and 29 at the last change before charging home to record a win that left them with a 7-15 record for the season.
Lynch and Mackay, who both played their last games for the club, were both mobbed by their teammates when they kicked last-quarter goals.
“It was a really pleasing way to finish the season off, especially that last 15 minutes,” Matthew Nicks said.
“I thought they played well the entire game, but in the last quarter we got back to what we really do well.
“Off the back of that there were some feel-good moments for a couple of legends of the club.”
The clash between 17th-ranked Adelaide and the last-placed Roos was the deadest of dead rubbers to bring the home-and-away season to a close, but both line-ups featured a bevy of talented youngsters eager to impress with an eye on next year.
The Crows showed they might be a touch further advanced in their list rebuild on the evidence of Sunday’s performance.
While experienced hands Rory Laird, Ben Keays, Rory Sloane and Brodie Smith led the way, the likes of Matt Schoenberg, Shane McAdam, Ned McHenry, Kieran Strachan and Jordon Butts all played important roles.
The Roos were smashed at the stoppages in the first half and didn’t kick a goal in the second quarter, but it wasn’t all bad news for the Shinboners.
Nick Larkey was a shining light up forward, finishing with three goals, with Aaron Hall, Tarryn Thomas and Jy Simpkin all busy around the ball.
“It was extremely disappointing,” Noble said.
“We’ll have to go away and reflect on that to understand what happened.
“But the overall growth of the group (this year) has been extremely positive.”
HIGH FLYERS
McAdam, who finished with three goals, put up his latest candidate for mark of the year in the first quarter. The spring-heeled forward was allowed a free run by direct opponent Aiden Bonar, who copped McAdam’s knee in the head as he climbed up to bring down a screamer.
Thomas followed suit in the second term when he used teammate Eddie Ford as a stepladder to launch for a big grab that was a highlight in an otherwise bleak quarter for the visitors.
CROWS FAREWELLED
Lynch and Mackay played their last games for Adelaide, with Daniel Talia also departing the club after failing to play all season through injury.
After playing six games in two seasons with St Kilda, Lynch bows out with 164 career games and 203 goals, Mackay retires having made 248 senior appearances, with Talia stuck on 200. Lynch and Talia will likely find new clubs after the rebuilding Crows decided against offering the pair new deals.
DRAFT SLIDE
The result had significant ramifications for Adelaide at the national draft. The Crows started the day with the second overall pick in their keeping, but slid down the order to No.4 with their seventh win of the season moving them into 15th spot on the ladder.
SCOREBOARD
CROWS 4.6, 5.9, 8.15, 13.20 (98)
KANGAROOS 2.1, 2.3, 5.4, 8.6 (54)
PHELAN’S BEST
CROWS: Laird, Keays, Smith, Sloane, Schoenberg, McAdam, Butts.
KANGAROOS: Hall, Thomas, Simpkin, Goldstein, Larkey.
GOALS
CROWS: McAdam 3, Keays 2, Jones, Schoenberg, Lynch, McHenry, Seedsman, Thilthorpe, Mackay, Gollant.
KANGAROOS: Larkey 3, Anderson, Scott, Thomas, Walker, Phillips.
INJURIES
CROWS: Nil.
KANGAROOS: Nil.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
JASON PHELAN’S VOTES
3. R. Laird (Adel)
2. B. Keays (Adel)
1. A. Hall (NM)
Originally published as AFL 2021: Suspended Adelaide forward Taylor Walker a no-show at end-of-season event
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