Taylor Walker hasn’t displayed great leadership since Grand Final loss and Jake Lever’s trade request

TAYLOR Walker is acting like a buffoon. The Jake Lever saga continues to embarrass the Crows and the skipper’s response shows it might be time to hand over the reins, writes Mark Robinson.

Taylor Walker hasn’t handled the Jake Lever situation well. Picture: Sarah Reed

TAYLOR Walker is acting like a buffoon.

And maybe buffoons shouldn’t be captain.

Here’s an idea: Tex and the Crows don’t like players leaving, so why not give the captaincy to Rory Sloane as he careers towards free agency at the end of next season.

Might help convince Sloane to stay. That is if he’s planning to leave.

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Might be transition time, anyway, because Walker, in recent times, is not acting like a captain should.

The saga which is Jake Lever wanting a trade to Melbourne continues to give and continues to embarrass the Adelaide Crows.

It took another curious turn on Monday when the Crows captain accused Lever of choosing money over success.

Speaking on Adelaide radio, Walker said he was “blunt” with Lever when the defender called to tell him he was leaving.

Taylor Walker hasn’t handled the Jake Lever situation well. Picture: Sarah Reed

“I didn’t have a crack at him, I was pretty honest because I don’t like people leaving our footy club,” Walker said.

“I think it’s him choosing money over success. For Jake, I think the difference in money was a lot.

“So if you’re driven by money or if you’re driven by success, that’s a decision you need to make.”

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The football world is confused by Adelaide. The perception is they are arrogant, hypocritical, misleading and, to be frank, are sooking it up since losing the Grand Final to Richmond.

With hindsight, you have to wonder if the Crows team were totally united going into the Grand Final.

It started when Lever put off contract talks until the end of the year and the jungle drums suggested Charlie Cameron wanted to be traded to Brisbane.

Lever initially said he would wait until the CBA agreement was struck before making a decision.

That came and went and he didn’t commit.

Jake Lever has played his last game for the Crows. Picture: Sarah Reed

Then came reports he met with Melbourne, which were denied. Then came the suggestion he had made a verbal commitment to the Demons. Again denied. But by this stage, Lever to Melbourne was a formality.

The Tigers had their own issues, but they dissipated when Dustin Martin agreed to sign on the eve of the finals.

One team was totally united. The other team was totally not.

The Power Rangers stance, which was led by Walker and gave off a sense of solidarity and power, ultimately meant nothing.

The Crows capitulated in the Grand Final and have been the centre of derision since, probably starting with Walker’s losing speech after the game, which was criticised as being unsporting.

Walker’s comments on Monday were denounced by triple premiership player Jimmy Bartel.

“What success?’’ Bartel said.

Adelaide players, led by captain Taylor Walker and coach Don Pyke stare down Richmond players before the Grand Final. But were they really a united group? Picture: Phil Hillyard

Walker’s comments also were hypocritical.

Did he also publicly smack Patrick Dangerfield when Dangerfield told him he was heading home for family reasons at the end of 2015? No, he didn’t.

That the Crows have brought in Eddie Betts, Sam Jacobs, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch, Scott Thompson and Paul Seedsman from other clubs, and wanted the contracted Bryce Gibbs from Carlton this time last year, tells us the Crows like to entice players to Adelaide.

So, how can Walker then have a crack at Lever for wanting to go the other way.

It’s double standards from the skipper.

You can admire Walker’s loyalty to the cause, and there’s no doubting his popularity among teammates, opposition players and all footy fans, but no one likes it when somebody has one hand out welcoming players, while with the other he’s clipping a player as he walks out the door.

There’s confusion on several Lever fronts.

Here’s a sight we won’t see for a while, Taylor Walker and Jake Lever celebrating together. Picture: Tom Huntley

It was reported he was invited to the Crows best and fairest, which was supported by Alana Fagan, the wife of Crows chief executive Andrew Fagan in a radio interview, but the prevailing view is Lever was advised not to attend by Crows people.

There was the accusation Adelaide low-balled Lever with their first offer, an assertion dismissed by former Crows coach Graham Cornes on Monday, after Cornes had spoken to Crows chairman Rob Chapman.

And all the while questions are being asked, notably by Scott Thompson, about why so many players want to leave the Crows.

Everywhere, there’s accusation and confusion, not least with Walker’s comments on Monday.

After losing the Grand Final, disappointment has been lost to buffoonery and there’s no winners there.