Adelaide’s straight-sets exit has left more than just bruises on the scoreboard, with veteran duo Taylor Walker and Brodie Smith unsure whether they will continue next season.
The Crows’ 34-point semi-final defeat to Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval marked the end of a campaign that promised plenty but faltered in September, and it could also mark the end of two celebrated careers.
Walker, 35, and Smith, 33, are both out of contract. Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks admitted after the loss that conversations about their futures were yet to take place.
‘It will be a conversation’
“We’ll sit down with ‘Tex’ (Walker) and a few others and just talk through what it looks like,” Nicks said.
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“I love the ‘Texan’. There’s different things that ‘Tex’ brings to our group on a footy field that aren’t necessarily just kicks and marks, and handballs. There’s a leadership component to it. I guess we’ll lick our wounds at the moment, and then we’ll sit down. Similar (with Smith), it will be a conversation.”
Walker, who signed a one-year extension at the end of 2024 to play his 18th season, endured a quiet night against the Hawks with just seven touches and two behinds. Smith managed 15 disposals, while teammate Wayne Milera conceded the uncertainty surrounding the pair looms large.
“It is quite disappointing on our part for them because we don’t know what their plans are for the future,” Milera told AAP. “That’s the way footy is. They haven’t called time on whatever their careers look like.”
As the Crows regroup from their first minor premiership since 2017 ending in failure, the fate of two of their most familiar figures remains unresolved.