Former Adelaide skipper Tex Walker admitted he’s learnt from his vocal criticism of Jake Lever’s departure to Melbourne
Taylor Walker has opened up on how the Crows failed to properly review the traumatic 2017 grand final loss - and what he learnt after criticising Jake Lever’s departure to Melbourne.
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Former Adelaide Crows captain Taylor Walker admitted he learnt a lot from the way he handled Jake Lever’s departure to Melbourne in 2017.
In an interview with AFL Media, Walker said he’d certainly been “caught out in the industry wearing my heart on my sleeve too much”.
Lever left for the Demons in exchange for two first-round picks following the Crows’ loss to Richmond in the 2017 grand final, and Walker said he learnt plenty from the experience.
“When Jake Lever left, I was quite vocal about it because I’m passionate and loyal and I want people to stay at my football club,” he said.
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“It wasn’t a personal attack at Jake, it was more about how much I loved him and I wanted him to stay.
“I learned from that – the industry is people are gonna come and go.”
The Adelaide forward, who grew up in Broken Hill, then said he put himself in Lever’s situation of playing closer to home.
“I thought, how do I put myself in Jake’s shoes, and if there was a Broken Hill team and there was an opportunity for me to go back home would I do it?” he said.
“I thought I probably would, so that’s how I computed things.
“One day I’ll have a beer with him and explain to him what I meant … I speak with him every now and then.
“It probably didn’t come across the way it should’ve.
“I’m black and white, most people that know me know … I’ll say it how it is.”
The Crows have lost a number of star players over the years, and are at risk of losing another in Brad Crouch at the end of 2020.
Yet, Walker said it’s up to the star midfielder if he wants to stay at West Lakes.
“Crouchy’s one of my best mates, he knows how I feel,” he said.
“But in saying that, I’ve learned it’s up to Brad.
“I’m not gonna tell him what to do, it’s up to him to decide what to do.”
Eight players have departed the Crows since that loss to the Tigers in 2017, and Walker added the club should’ve reviewed the game in the days following, rather than following the players’ break.
“Not many people would be able to say they got to a grand final, although we lost, no-one died out of it, so we certainly live and learn,” he said.
“As a footy club, in hindsight, we probably would’ve reviewed the grand final straight away rather than go on your break and come back.
“We were very confident going into it and then not to win it, a lot of boys stewed on it, I was one of them.
“There was still a lot of s*** on my liver and I’m sure a lot of the boys could say the same thing.”
Despite that, Walker said the grand final isn’t a regret for him.
“I don’t think I’ll ever say I have a regret,” he said. “I do things because I think it’s the right thing to do.
“I look back and think that’s probably not the right thing to do and won’t do it next time.
“The grand final, that’s not a regret, yeah we didn’t win, but we got there.
“We were the best team all year and one game defines results, and that’s just the way it is.”
The club missed finals the two seasons following, which culminated in Don Pyke departing as coach and Walker stepping down as captain at the end of last season.
It was a time the key forward was contemplating whether if West Lakes was the right place for him to conclude his career.
“I thought we should’ve played finals plain and simple, and we didn’t,” he said.
“Your mind starts to think; is this the best place for me, how long do I have left in my career, do I step aside do I stay on?
“I imagine a lot of players would bounce from things like that. It stayed in my mind for a few weeks to a month.
“You speak to the people that you trust, but in the end, there was no way in the world I could leave this footy club.
“Probably what kept me at the club is that I feel like I’ve got a lot to give and our young group needs me, and I feel I can give a lot to the club towards the back end of my career.”
It has been a big off-season for Walker since stepping down as captain, as he became a dad for the first time.
“It’s amazing, Hugo’s three months old now,” he said. “He rolled over for the first time in his sleep this week. Ellie was quite nervous and scared about it.
“I thought when he first was born that ‘I’ve known you forever and you’re my best mate’.
“You just cherish moments you have with them, because it goes so quickly.
“I’ve always loved kids and my brother has two little boys.
“When you have nephews you can always hand them back when you’ve stirred them up, to have your own, you can’t explain to people that don’t have kids the excitement and enjoyment you get out of it.
“Certainly I think little things don’t matter anymore, priorities you get in order and you love going home whether you’ve had a good day or bad day.”
The 29-year-old has two more years on his deal at the club, and he firmly believes the club can make the finals this year under new coach Matthew Nicks.
“I reckon every team right now is saying lets make finals, and I believe we can make finals,” he said.
“I don’t want to go into the season saying let’s just finish down the bottom.
“I think we’re going to make finals and no-one’s rating us, which good on them, that’s their opinion.”
“We can show the people wrong.”
Originally published as Former Adelaide skipper Tex Walker admitted he’s learnt from his vocal criticism of Jake Lever’s departure to Melbourne
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