AFL 2021: All the latest Adelaide Crows news ahead of Round 17
Taylor Walker has been ruled out but Darcy Fogarty won’t be his replacement. Here’s why, plus a key Crow set for surgery and a forgotten one making his case.
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Adelaide is hopeful Taylor Walker will be back to face West Coast next week, while surgery looms for Luke Brown, after both were ruled out of the Crows’ Friday night clash against Essendon.
The experienced duo did not train on Thursday and won’t play against the Bombers.
Walker suffered a neck strain in a heavy collision with Brisbane’s Daniel Rich on Saturday and had to be substituted out of the game.
He did train on Tuesday but then strained a muscle in his chest, and both knocks have ruled him out of the match.
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Nicks said Walker just wasn’t right to play, but could be against the Eagles next week - a fixture likely to be on Sunday.
“He was tracking really well at the start of the week and he was quite confident he would get himself up to play,” Nicks said.
“Actually in a weights session, normally the boys throw a few weights around this morning, he just found that he wasn’t moving right.
“There is still a little bit of soreness there, he is not anywhere near being able to play.
“He was really confident early in the week so he is disappointed but it would be silly for us to push too hard at the moment.
“If it continues to track how it is we’d like to think he will be right for the Eagles.”
Elliott Himmelberg has travelled with the team to Melbourne, and was playing in the Crows AFL side during match simulation on Thursday.
Adding to the likelihood of Himmelberg replacing Walker is that Darcy Fogarty will again play SANFL.
Nicks said it was an opportunity for Fogarty to find more of the ball.
“Just continue to work on his game… it is an opportunity for someone else so Fog needs to play consistent footy in the SANFL,” he said.
“By no means he is in bad form but we are looking for a slightly different dynamic ahead of the ball.”
Brown has struggled with Achilles soreness for most of this season.
He again reported the issue after the loss to the Lions.
He will have scans and consult a specialist but Nicks hinted that the important defender would more than likely have surgery.
“He has had ongoing Achilles soreness and he has managed that over the year. It has gotten to that point now where we are starting to look at his medium to longer term outlook,” Nicks said.
“We don’t want to do the wrong thing and grind him through the rest of the season, he is really important to us.
“We are going to make a decision on that. He is going to consult another expert.
“There is a chance that he goes into surgery.
“My last conversation with Browny was that both of us felt it was more than likely he would get something done.
“What it would hopefully do is take away the management that is required at the moment.”
Tom Lynch will play another game in the SANFL, while Matt Crouch took part in drills in a promising sign as he seeks to play some footy this year.
“He was moving too well… we had to slow him down at times which was a great sign,” Nicks said.
“At the moment we are hoping that he plays in the next few weeks.”
Young defender Josh Worrell, who recently made his AFL debut against St Kilda, was late to training after sleeping in as a result of being kept up all night by a nearby car alarm.
“It’s a good lesson for him, Nicks said.
“We had a chat about it, as long as you are not up gaming until two or three in the morning I’m OK with that.”
But, after two games across three seasons, Ben Davis could get a final chance to show that he has what it takes to play at AFL level.
The 24-year-old made his debut for the Crows in Round 15 in 2019 when then Adelaide coach Don Pyke tried to find a spark to reignite his sides’ faltering campaign against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium.
He then added to this tally in Nicks’ first game as Crows senior coach in Round 1 last year, but the speedy forward has since not been sighted at AFL level.
But this could change in the Crows’ clash against Essendon. And with Davis out of contract at the end of the season, it could be a final chance to convince the Crows to keep him on.
“Yeah it is and when you say last chance, Benny’s career could go on elsewhere, it could be here,” Nicks said.
“But this is that opportunity that Benny has to show that he should be here going forward.”
Davis has been transformed from a forward into a defender at SANFL level and Nicks said he needed to show he can perform in the big league.
“Just to give you an idea of Ben Davis off field he is elite, just energy, passion for his teammates,” he said.
“He is all about team so he gives everything. It’s the on-field footy when he gets to that AFL level if he does get that chance if he can grab that and show that he can play at that level then we would love to have him on at this footy club going forward.
“But that’s the industry and Benny knows it, I’ve openly spoken about it to him – here’s your chance.
“It’s a tough one because you are trying to say ‘don’t feel the pressure’ but this is where it is at.”
Improved Crow’s contract trigger point
In-form Adelaide wingman Paul Seedsman has triggered a new one-year contract and now hopes to remain a Crow for the rest of his career.
Seedsman had been without a deal for 2022 before reaching a clause earlier this season to ensure an extension.
On track for a career-best campaign, the 29-year-old plans to talk with the club about staying even longer.
“The security to have another year is good to know but I’d like to extend past that,” Seedsman said.
“We’ll sit down with the club in the coming months and work through a possible extension and see what their thoughts are.
“I’ve been here six years and would love to finish my career here.”
Seedsman, who has played 76 games for the Crows after 49 at Collingwood, is averaging career-highs this season in disposals (25.53), inside 50s (5.93), clearances (2) and uncontested possessions (19.47).
He credited working with a mind coach as one of the key factors behind his form.
Dropped for the Crows’ last five matches of 2020 and with his mum encouraging him to do it, Seedsman started sessions with a Victorian-based teacher late last year.
The Eastern Ranges product undertook a six-month course that helped build belief on a subconscious level and led to him setting daily goals and affirmations, watching videos and reading books.
“My mum was pretty adamant in me giving it a go – she’s been pushing it on me for a couple of years – then obviously with where I was at last year, getting dropped late in the year … I knew I had to change something,” he said.
“I didn’t want my career to finish the way it was last year.
“With mum on my back, it pushed me into it and I’m glad that I did it.
“When you’re out there and under pressure, you believe that your body just does it naturally, as opposed to trying to think it, which has allowed me to play a lot freer this year and not overcomplicate things or overthink situations.
“There’s a fair bit to it and it’s been great for me.”
Meanwhile, Adelaide is understood to be in talks with defender Jake Kelly over a new deal.
The 26-year-old Victorian, who has played 104 games for the Crows since being rookie-listed in 2013, is out of contract at season’s end and is believed to be very happy at the club.
Discussions have been ongoing since about the mid-season break.
Crows call in specialist for Tex
Adelaide will get a second opinion on Taylor Walker’s neck injury ahead of making a call on whether the Crows’ talisman plays against Essendon on Friday night.
Walker hurt his neck while lunging and making contact with Brisbane defender Daniel Rich midway through the second term of Adelaide’s 52-point loss to the Lions at home on Saturday
The former captain was substituted at halftime, but was able to walk around during the second half on the boundary.
He underwent scans on the neck strain on Sunday, and the Crows will get the opinion of another specialist before making a call on whether he will face the Bombers.
The match hasn’t been locked in by the AFL but the Crows are expecting to take on the Bombers on Friday night at Marvel Stadium.
Matthew Nicks’ side is expected to leave Adelaide for Melbourne on Thursday, and will face little to no restrictions upon their return from Victoria.
After Walker’s collision Nicks said he feared his spearhead had suffered a serious injury when he first saw the incident.
“He got quite a substantial knock to his neck and we were extremely concerned early but he’s been cleared, no concussion,” Nicks said post game.
“It (initially) looked like maybe he’d broken his arm or shoulder or possibly something along those lines.
“Now we’ve got to work through how his neck comes back.”
Walker had booted 40 goals from 13 games going into the round and signed a one-year contract extension this week.
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Originally published as AFL 2021: All the latest Adelaide Crows news ahead of Round 17
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