Crows not abandoning Walker despite racist slur

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks says the club has not distanced itself from former captain Taylor Walker after he was suspended for directing a racial slur at an opponent.

Walker was hit with a six-match AFL ban for his words directed at North Adelaide’s Robbie Young during a SANFL clash back in July and has since taken time away from the club.

With doubts surrounding whether the 31-year-old will remain on the Crows’ list in 2022 after receiving a one-year extension, Nicks said he hoped Walker would be a part of making a change at the club.

“We’re working through that at the moment with Taylor,” Nicks said when asked of Walker’s status. “I’ll make it really clear: we haven’t distanced ourselves from Taylor Walker whatsoever.”

“We’ve got a lot of support around Taylor and his family. He’s going through a tough time at the moment and we’ll continue to support him, as we have supported all of our players.

“It has been a tough week, but at the same time we’ve sat down as a group and I know we’re going to be stronger moving forward. We’re going to be a really important organisation going forward and I know we’re going to big in this space.

“We’re going to do whatever we can to make a change in this space and I hope Taylor is a part of that. We’ll continue to work through it with Taylor and continue to work through it as a footy club.

“I’m sure you understand that it’s a complex situation that we’re dealing with here. It’s a really tough one for us to be in and we’ll continue to work through and support everyone we can.”

Nicks’ Crows were gallant in defeat once again, going down to ladder-leaders Melbourne, and he was enthused by the signs his young charges showed.

“Definitely in the last two weeks we’ve found the game that we put out there earlier in the season,” he said.

“In fact, I think we’ve been even better in these past couple of weeks, the way we’ve connected up.

“Some of our younger players around that 20 to 21-year-old age have really stepped up their games and gone to another level.”

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