Adelaide Crows fans give Taylor Walker a huge applause after collecting leading goalkicker award

Taylor Walker’s future at the Adelaide Crows remains in limbo after his suspension for a racial slur, yet coach Matthew Nicks has indicated where the club stands.

Taylor Walker lines up for goal. Picture: Getty Images

Adelaide senior coach Matthew Nicks has given the clearest indication yet that Taylor Walker will play on in 2022.

Walker’s future at the club has been in doubt since he was hit with a six-week ban for making a racial slur towards North Adelaide’s Robbie Young last month.

He had been away from the club, and got permission from the playing group to attend the Crows Club Champion night.

Walker collected the clubs leading goalkicking award, and got the biggest applause of the night so far — with some attendees wolf whistling.

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They were back applauding when Nicks gave a big indication that he would like Walker back at the club in 2022.

In his address Nicks paid tribute to the career best seasons by Walker, Rory Laird, Ben Keays and Paul Seedsman this year.

“And we will need all four of you next year,” he said.

This resulted in another round of big applause as those Crows fans present may have gotten a hint as to the future of Walker.

Rory Laird claimed the Malcolm Blight Medal after averaging 32 disposals, 6.8 clearances and almost six tackles per game.

Laird polled 123 votes to win by three from Ben Keays. Paul Seedsman was third on 105 votes ahead of Brodie Smith, Tom Doedee and Taylor Walker who finished equal-fourth.

Crows fans respond to Tex at awards night

Taylor Walker didn’t say anything as he collected his leading goalkicker award at Adelaide’s Club Champion night.

But the Crows fans present filled the silence with a huge applause for the former captain - in light of his ban for racially vilifying Robbie Young at a SANFL game.

Whether Walker would actually attend the night dominated the lead into the Adelaide’s Club Champion award.

Taylor and Ellie Walker arrive at the Adelaide Crows Best and Fairest. Picture: Matt Loxton

On Friday the Crows playing group made the decision to allow Walker to attend Saturday night’s event.

Arriving just before the event started with wife Ellie, after saying he had some work to do with his family after his six game ban, Walker quickly struck up conversation with former Crows chairman Rob Chapman before the event started.

Teammates Ben Keays and Reilly O’Brien shared a joke with Walker, while as he walked to the function room young forward Lachlan Gollant sought him out for a handshake.

Given Walker’s red-hot start to the season, it was unsurprising he was the leader of the Crows best and fairest count after six rounds.

This got a warm round of applause.

But this didn’t compare when he collected his leading goalkicking award.

As the screen showed highlights of his goals this season Walker got a resounding applause from many inside the Convention Centre.

He even got some celebratory whistles as his applause continued for the entirety of the presentation.

Host for the night Jess Adamson said it was “great to see you here Tex”.

While he still has a long way to go to return to footy those Crows fans at the Convention Centre agreed.

‘Ashamed’ Walker breaks silence

— Matthew Turner

Adelaide forward Taylor Walker concedes he initially panicked and denied his racial vilification out of self-interest, before coming forward to own his mistake.

The AFL suspended the former Crows captain for six games on August 6 for a slur about North Adelaide player Robbie Young after a two-week investigation.

In his first press conference since receiving the ban, Walker told reporters he was ashamed and deeply remorseful for his comment, as well as the pain he had caused.

The 31-year-old said he knew his remark was wrong at the time but did not immediately admit it.

He would not say if he had ever used that language previously.

Taylor Walker has fronted the media for the first time since the racism scandal. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

“When I was first pushed on this, I was in denial, I panicked and I was scared, and I thought about myself,” Walker said.

“I let time go and said to myself ‘this is not about me, it’s about Robbie and the Adelaide official and the pain that I’ve caused to them’, and that’s when I said ‘I’m coming forward to own this’.

“And I want to get better for it.”

Walker remained noncommittal about whether he would play for the club again and fulfil his contract, which ran until the end of 2022.

The 31-year-old forward, who had been in All-Australian form before his suspension, said he would make a decision on his future “down the road”.

“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to a few players and they’ve said that if the time comes to that (accepting back into the club), we’ll get to that when it comes.

“I’m not here to talk about myself and my future, it’s about what I do from here on in as a person.”

Until Thursday, Walker had avoided speaking publicly, leaving it to coach Matthew Nicks, assistants, chief executive Tim Silvers and teammates.

Walker’s only appearance had been in a widely criticised 90-second scripted video apology of him sitting with Young in the grandstand at Prospect Oval on August 9.

Having been described by Silvers after the suspension as an emotional wreck, Walker said he had to “go through a process to get to this stage” to front the media.

Walker said he had been hurt by watching Nicks’s tearful press conference the day his sanctions were announced and seeing former teammate Eddie Betts respond on AFL360 saying he was sick of racial abuse.

He said he had “work to do” on his relationship with Betts.

“I’ve spoken to Eddie and we had a great conversation,” he said.

“I’ve caused so much hurt to people like that and I can’t say how sorry I am.

“I’ve hurt him, his family and community, like I have for all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

Walker said the club’s four Indigenous players – Wayne Milera, Ben Davis, Shane McAdam and Tariek Newchurch – had been open about how his slur had affected them and they accepted his apology.

“It’s now up to me to repair that relationship and reconcile and get some more education for myself because clearly I’m not up to the level,” he said.

“I’ll be judged on what I do from here.”

Walker regularly referenced the need to educate himself better and said he would visit an Indigenous community to learn more.

He hoped his career would not be “remembered for one remark”.

The Broken Hill product has played 220 games for Adelaide, is a two-time winner of the AFL Players’ Association’s Best Captain award and the club’s all-time leading goalkicker.

“The people that know me will understand the person that I am,” he said.

Walker said he wanted to attend the Crows’ best and fairest on Saturday night and it was now up for the club to decide.

He won Adelaide’s leading goalkicking award for this season, booting 48 majors.

Walker confirmed all parties involved had signed confidentiality agreements, preventing details of the incident being discussed.

Originally published as Adelaide Crows fans give Taylor Walker a huge applause after collecting leading goalkicker award