Adelaide all-time leading goalkicker Taylor Walker has revealed he will be managed at some point across the remaining six weeks of the season.
The 36-year-old has played 12 out of 17 matches in his 19th AFL season, and has been an important part of the Crows’ attack.
Speaking to Roo, Ditts and Loz on Triple M Adelaide Breakfast, Walker said conversations between himself, the coaches and high performance staff had taken place around a management plan for the back-end of the season.
“The short answer is no, I won’t play every week,” Walker said.
“Nicksy, Burnsy (Assistant Scott Burns) and I have sat down with Mackers (High Performance Manager Ian McKeown) and spoken about how that looks for me personally.
“So over the back stretch (of the season), I’ll certainly be managed at some point.”
Walker wound back the clock against Gold Coast on Saturday night, booting five goals to help lift his team to a commanding 79-point win.
The haul also brought him within one major of 700 career goals, a milestone many of his teammates believed he had achieved when Ben Keays handed him an easy goal late in the final term.
“What happened was, Timmy Cook, our physio, was on the bench saying to the boys I had one more to kick, he thought I was on 699,” Walker said.
“So Josh Worrell was running around saying ‘one more, one more, he needs one more’, so when Keaysy got the free kick I think it was Daws who went over to him and said ‘give it off to Tex.’
“I knew I still had two to go, and I thought there’s no way in the world I’m saying no to that handball, I’ll just run around and kick the goal here.
“It was a bit of a weird night for me, I thought I had my boots on the wrong feet in the first half, but it was nice to be able to stick in there and kick a few in the end.”
Walker also took the opportunity to praise the form of young teammate Luke Nankervis, who has cemented himself in the Crows’ line-up across the past two months.
He said a simplified mentality had helped Nankervis get the best out of his game.
“I think the one thing that’s making him play really well is his intercept marking, he’s reading the play really well, getting into great positions and taking intercept marks,” Walker said.
“The best way I’d describe it is just simple footy, sometimes you can get caught up in trying to bite off a little bit too much, but he’s certainly playing his role plus some within the group at the moment.
“He’s another one that’s just grown and grown, and he’s playing some really good footy.”
Adelaide takes on Sydney at the SCG this Friday night, with the match to begin at 7.10pm (ACST).
Fans can watch the game live on Channel 7 Adelaide, Fox Footy and Kayo.
