Rory Sloane says reviewing Adelaide’s Grand Final defeat has allowed the playing list to move on
FOR almost the entire 2017 season, Adelaide sat at the top of the tree as the team to beat. But after a Grand Final horror show, it has been a summer of pain. How did the Crows finally get over it?
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RORY Sloane says Adelaide’s determination to review its Grand Final defeat and confront the players’ painful memories, has allowed the playing list to move on.
Now the challenge for Sloane is to find a way to beat the taggers who will continue to hassle him after Jack Graham’s Grand Final shutdown job.
Despite a rampaging start to the contest, where Sloane kicked two early goals, many Adelaide stars played some of their poorest football of the year.
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But rather than pretend it never happened, Sloane told the Herald Sun confronting those memories was the best remedy.
“You have got to review it. It’s one of the first things we did, which ended up being one of the best exercises we could have done.
“A lot of guys were holding onto bits and pieces from the Grand Final, which they carried over the break.
“After we did it, it really helped guys move on and focus on this year.
“You have got to learn from it too. There must have been a reason why. Richmond deserved it, they played a phenomenal game, but we didn’t quite bring our best.
“We wanted to find out a bit of why that didn’t happen.”
Sloane’s tagger Graham kicked three goals in only his fifth AFL game as he kept the Adelaide vice-captain to 15 possessions after quarter time.
Eddie Betts, Taylor Walker and Josh Jenkins were also below par after a season full of positives.
Sloane, in Melbourne for an appearance as a 2018 Auskick ambassador, remains reluctant to discuss his contract status despite reports he might soon re-sign on a four-year deal.
New acquisition Bryce Gibbs will surely help him cope with the added attention, with Sloane adamant he was unfussed with tight-checking opponents.
“It’s never an issue as long as your team is in good form and winning. That’s what we did for basically the whole year until the last game,’’ he said.
“(Bryce) has brought a lot of leadership and knowledge. We have still got a lot of young guys coming through that midfield.
“We already have good midfield depth and to be able to add another one, he’s flexible as well and can play multiple positions.”
Sloane said he had pulled up well from Saturday’s intraclub contest, his first hitout of the year ahead of next week’s JLT clash against Port Adelaide.
“I got through OK and everyone got through well. It was a tough, hot, contested game. We are seeing a lot of young guys we saw last week get another crack and the (Port Adelaide game) will be a really good hitout for us before Round 1.”
Originally published as Rory Sloane says reviewing Adelaide’s Grand Final defeat has allowed the playing list to move on
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