Adelaide all-time leading goalkicker Taylor Walker has admitted his nerves were higher than normal as he prepared for his first SANFL game in 12 years last Saturday.
The 36-year-old returned from a minor hamstring injury last weekend, and the decision was made to give him a run in the Club’s SANFL clash against Glenelg, rather than bring him in for the AFL side’s match against Hawthorn in Tasmania.
Walker stood tall in his first SANFL match since 2014, booting five goals as the Crows upset last year’s grand finalists in a thrilling contest at Glenelg Oval.
Speaking to Roo, Ditts and Loz on Triple M Adelaide Breakfast, Walker went in-depth on the experience.
“I got a little bit of feedback from over the fence, but it was all in good fun and a fun day to be a part of,” Walker said.
“I hadn’t played SANFL for 12 years so I was quite anxious going into it to be honest, it was probably the most anxious I’d been for a long time, going back and playing (in the SANFL).
“My SANFL teammates and AFL teammates were very, very accommodating, they embraced me coming back, and so did our Senior Coach Matty Wright.
“It was great and heading down to play a Glenelg team in great form on their home deck, it was really satisfying to come away with a win against a side that will be there when the whips are cracking.”
Walker provided the strong crowd at Glenelg Oval with a number of exciting highlights, which included a high-flying contested mark and classy dribble kick finish.
He said the game brought him back to his roots of community footy, and was fun to be a part of.
“I found that the SANFL had a bit of a community feel to it, which was awesome, you could smell the BBQ and see the kids running around - so overall I had a lot of fun,” Walker said.
“Sometimes footy can get quite serious, so to just go and have fun and do what you do for the reasons you always wanted to as a kid - it was a lot of fun.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it and hopefully it’s enough to put my name back on the board for Nicksy in the AFL side.”
Walker also took the chance to pay tribute to AFL legend Neale Daniher, who passed away on Monday afternoon.
He said the work Daniher had done in his fight against Motor Neurone Disease (MND) was inspiring for all Australians.
“I haven’t had anything directly to do with Neale, but his daughter (Bec) has come out to the footy Club numerous times and helped share his story and the work the family has been doing with FightMND,” Walker said.
“What an inspiring human being he is, when things get thrown at you there are always challenges, and you’ve got a decision to make on how you attack those challenges.
“He made an obvious decision after he got diagnosed with MND about how he was going to attack that, and I don’t think there’d be a person in Australia or in the world that wasn’t inspired by the way he attacked his disease.
“It’s truly amazing what he was able to do and it’s a very sad day for the Daniher family and the AFL world.”
Adelaide will host its annual SA Freeze event at its next home game against Geelong on Thursday, June 4.
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