Ex-Crows captain Taylor Walker has spoken on the aftermath of his side's heartbreaking 2017 Grand Final loss to Richmond in a tell-all interview with AFL Media.ย
Tex revealed that the Crows did not review the final game of their 2017 campaign until after the playing group returned from break, leaving the players to dwell on the loss for some time.
Walker - who captained the Crows between 2015 and 2019 and played under several different coaches - said he had considered leaving the club at the end of the 2019 season.
โI thought we should have played finals, plain and simple, and didnโt,โ Walker said of their 2019 campaign.
โThen you mind starts to think โis this the best place for me, how long have I got left in my career, do I step aside, do I stay on?โ
โYou just bounce. I would imagine a lot of players would bounce from that and then you just come to the decision I am a loyal person. Obviously thinking about is this the place to play my football.
โA couple of weeks, months. You speak to the people you trust, but in the end there was no way in the world I could leave this football club. Probably what kept me at the football club is that I have a lot to give towards the back-end of my career.โ
Walker believes that the Crows could have gone about the grand final defeat differently to aid the players looking to move on from the loss to Richmond.
โ(They were) challenging times as a football club. We lost coaches, Iโve changed coaches,โ he reflected.
โ(We) lost a Grand Final, played some good football. As a group weโve grown and not many people would be able to say theyโve got to a Grand Final, albeit we lost. Nobody died out of it, so we certainly live and learn.
โProbably as a football club if you live in hindsight, we probably wouldโve reviewed the Grand Final straight away rather than going on a break and coming back. We were very confident coming into it โ and then not to win it.
โA lot of boys stewed on it and then to come back it was still a bit of s**t on my liver and a lot of boys were probably the same thing. I think Pykey and the coaching group we all agreed in hindsight if we were to make another Grand Final and things didnโt fall our way, we wouldโve reviewed straight away.โ
Walker stepped down as Crows captain at the conclusion of last year, following the Crows' second straight year without finals football.
When things donโt go the way planned, itโs challenging as a leader of any business or sporting club,โ he said.
โYou feel a lot more on your shoulders. We didnโt perform and to find reasons why and try and continue to do your daily activities to train and play on the weekend. Not only myself but other players and families.
โSouth Australia is a quiet little town and everything is microscoped. There were times I didnโt go out as I didnโt want to see supporters or the general public, get their opinions, because youโre sick of it.โ
Walker said that there was a lot of weight lifted from his shoulders after stepping down as captain, believing he could remain in the league for another three to fours years.
Walker also said he was in the wrong to criticise former teammate Jake Lever after the defender left to join Melbourne, believing he has matured to understand Lever's decision following out-of-contract midfielder Brad Crouch's year dealing with contract negotiations.
"I've certainly been caught out in the industry wearing my heart on my sleeve probably too much,โ Walker said.
Brad is one of my best mates, he knows how I feel. In saying that, I've learnt โฆ it is up to Brad.
"I'm not going to tell him what to do. It is up to Brad to decide where he thinks it is best for his future.
"Everything is on the table for him. The footy club is there to support him. If he stays, I'd love that. If he doesnโt stay, that's up to him. I won't give him a send-off. I've learnt."
