Adelaide’s all-time leading goalkicker Taylor Walker says young teammate Max Michalanney is on an exciting trajectory, after recommitting to the Club for another four years.
The 22-year-old defender has become a mainstay in the Crows’ senior side across his first three seasons of AFL football, playing 66 games and been tasked with curtailing many of the competition’s premier goal-sneaks.
Speaking to Roo, Ditts and Loz on Triple M Adelaide Breakfast, Walker explained the influence Michalanney had on the group since arriving at West Lakes with pick No.17 in the 2022 AFL Draft.
“I absolutely love Maxy, he’s an A-grade human and one of the guys that when he runs on the field you never have to worry about him - because he just gets it done,” Walker said.
“I reckon he has the potential to be our next Skipper of the footy Club whenever Daws finishes up.
“He just oozes leadership, he sets a high standard in training and in-games, he gets his stuff done, everybody loves him and he builds great relationships.
“He’s just a great young kid.”
Along with singing the praises of Michalanney, Walker provided a brief update on how Dan Curtin was recovering from knee surgery.
He said the 20-year-old was in good spirits and diligently attacking his rehabilitation.
“DC (Dan Curtin) is going really well at the moment, he’s got his knee brace to 90 degrees at the moment, and when he first had his surgery they had it locked so he couldn’t bend it,” Walker said.
“So the fact he’s got it to 90 degrees now is promising, he said next week he’ll get it bent even more - he’s doing some leg weights and things like that.
“He’s a big horse, DC, and it’s going to be scary when we get him back in about 10 weeks.”
Preparations for Walker’s 19th AFL season ramped last Friday, as he featured in the Crows’ 19-point match simulation win against Port Adelaide at Alberton.
He said the squad took a lot out of the match sim, and was happy to be out there competing against an opposition.
“It was a very good hit-out, it’s always good to get that first one out of the way to blow out the cobwebs,” Walker said.
“But no matter how much pre-season you do, that first five minutes when you face opposition for the first time, geez you feel unfit.
“Your lungs blow up, you get lactic (acid) in the quads and hammies, but overall it was a good night, we got through unscathed and got to practice a few things we’d been working on in the pre-season.
“Now we look forward to heading over to Perth and taking on Freo and having one more solid hit-out before the real stuff starts.”
Adelaide’s pre-season campaign continues this Saturday, as it travels to Mandurah in Western Australia to take on Fremantle.
The match will begin at 5.40pm (ACDT), with fans able to catch all the action live on Kayo and Fox Footy.
