Taylor Walker’s 250th game
Taylor Walker’s 250th game Vs West Coast Eagles
Matthew Nicks, ADELAIDE’s coach, is urging his team to be worthy of Taylor Walker’s 250th game and to avoid a slip up against West Coast.
Walker will be the star of Saturday’s Adelaide Oval match between the Crows, who are ranked ninth and the Eagles, who are ranked last.
Nicks, speaking to reporters on Friday, said: “He will leave a legacy that is incredible at this football club.”
We just hope that we can do it justice tomorrow. We hope to put on a show that he will remember.
Adelaide’s leading goal kicker will celebrate his 33rd birthday and begin negotiations for a new contract next season.
This prospect seemed gloomy during Nicks’s first season as the Crows coach in 2020, when Walker scored only 15 goals in 14 games.
Since then, the spearhead’s season hauls have been 48, 47, and 28 goals this year.
Nicks stated, “I feel blessed and fortunate that Tex has found his form.”
“There was a time when people thought that he was slowing up – but he proved them incorrect.
“I have had the good fortune to see some of his finest football.”
“He is a great leader for our team, both on and off-field. The guys are following him.”
“I hope he has a strong game, but more so for the team. Really all he wants is to win tomorrow.”
Any other result than a Crows victory in the twilight match would be a major shock against an Eagles team that has only won one game this season due to injuries.
Nicks is nervous about such talk.
He said, “The competition is fierce every week.”
They have a middle that is better than any other in the competition.
“Yeah they’ve had injuries throughout the year, and that’s likely where the results weren’t where they wanted.
“But they are capable of playing some high-level football if they have the chance. Then that is very dangerous.
We know that we have a lot of work ahead.
If you don’t match the West Coast midfield, you will find yourself playing in the back half.
Nicks also said that his players had been deflated after the injury suffered by Tom Doedee. Doedee’s contract ends at the end the season.
Doedee’s right knee will be reconstructed soon and he will miss the next twelve months of football.
The 26-year old is a restricted-free agent at the conclusion of this season, and has not yet committed to a new contract with the Crows.
Nicks stated that “that’s a thing that we are continuing to work on, and will continue to do so with Tom and his Management.”
Nicks was confident that the Victorian-born defender who had had his left leg reconstructed in 2019 would bounce back.
Nicks stated that “it’s challenging because Tom is such a well-liked player in our team, he’s the leader of our team.”
It’s not the only time that it has happened to Tommy, so I think everyone initially, it flattens out the group.
