Adelaide Crows captain Rory Sloane shrugs off teammates’ fight

Adelaide Crows captain Rory Sloane has sheepishly conceded part of him loves to see teammates throwing punches during training.

Adelaide Crows captain Rory Sloane has sheepishly conceded part of him loves to see teammates throwing punches during training.

There is a part of Adelaide captain Rory Sloane that loves the outbreak of fisticuffs between two teammates at training.

Crows Kyle Hartigan and Billy Frampton traded punches on Saturday in what skipper Sloane says is a by-product of the competitive nature of football clubs.

Sloane has not counselled the pair, who made up immediately after the practice- match stoush ahead of Adelaide’s Saturday night encounter against arch-foe Port Adelaide.

“I actually missed it during the session and when we came off I saw those two basically hugging it out in iso-sense … and talking it out,” Sloane told reporters on Tuesday.

“It happens. We’re in a competitive environment and guys get heated.

“I love parts of it.

“It escalated, no doubt. But the fact those boys made up straight after, that is what you want.

“There’s no need to step in as captain when two boys come back and both recognise it got pretty heated and go, ‘All right, let’s move on’.

“They’re grown men, they don’t need counselling.”

The Crows said of the incident: “Neither player was hurt, there was no disciplinary action and it was being treated as a training incident in the heat of battle reflecting the intensity and competition of match simulation”.

Crows players during training session in Adelaide on Tuesday.

Kayo is your ticket to the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Watch every match of every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >

Frampton made his debut for the Crows in round one after being recruited from Port after last season.

“That is one thing we absolutely love about Billy, that is the way we want him to play — with an aggressive mindset,” Sloane said.

“Certainly our hit out on Saturday was a reflection of that, it was really contested.

“I certainly pulled up sore Sunday arvo … the boys really cracked in.

“Guys are realising now it’s time to step up. We have got a Showdown coming up and our weekend hitout was a perfect prep for a Showdown.”

The dust-up followed another week of criticism of Adelaide’s culture after the club’s games-record holder and AFL hall of famer Andrew McLeod said he did not feel welcomed returning to the club.

Some critics said McLeod’s comments were evidence of culture problems at the club.

“People are entitled to their opinion,” Sloane said.

“That is not my opinion. That is not the guys’ inside the four walls opinion.

“So people can have their opinions but we have got a strong group in there that knows the culture.”

— AAP