Twenty four hours before telling his teammates and the extended Crows family that he was stepping down as captain, Rory Sloane was still doing the very thing that got him the job in the first place four years earlier.

It was Friday morning at West Lakes and Adelaide’s extended squad, which included a handful of SANFL development players, was mid-way through a full-scale match simulation.

One of those development players was Lachie Thomas, a 19-year-old from Sturt who had been invited to train with the Crows’ SANFL team over summer to push his case for a regular game.

As Thomas chased after the footy, Sloane – who is coming back from a knee reconstruction at the age of 32 – was trying to both out-work him and help him at the same time.

“Lachie Thomas was in the opposite team and Sloaney ran alongside him and said ‘stay with me, stay with me, cover me on the exit’, all the while trying to beat him,” Adelaide’s former skipper and current midfield coach Nathan van Berlo said.

“Godsy (Michael Godden) came over and said to me ‘did you just hear what Sloaney was saying?’, and that was to a young kid who isn’t even on our list. He is always prioritising others.

“The thing about Sloaney is he’s one of the most loyal and caring human beings I’ve ever come across, but he demands the best of himself and others on game day which I guess typified his captaincy.

“And we were still seeing it at training yesterday, instructing and coaching one of our young development players.”

Van Berlo was in his fifth season at the Crows when Sloane walked through the door as Pick 44 from the 2008 National Draft, and watched him work on his game and later follow in his footsteps as captain.

“There’s plenty more to come but to see him leave a lasting legacy at our club is very pleasing,” van Berlo said.

“There were some doubters and knocks on his game when he got drafted but Sloaney being Sloaney he put his head down and worked his backside off and became an A Grade player and A Grade leader.

“I’ve been fortunate enough that he’s one of my best mates, we spend a lot of time together with our families, I know his brother and sister and mum and dad so we’ve gone the full journey together.

“It’s a remarkable story for young guys, someone picked up at Pick 44 and become such an outstanding leader for us and he will continue to do that into the future.”

At a press conference on Saturday to announce that Sloane would be handing the Adelaide captaincy to Jordan Dawson this season, Senior Coach Matthew Nicks described Sloane as a “follow-me” type of captain who led by his actions.

Never was that more evident than during the 2017 preliminary final when fixated on the football he collided at full pace with Geelong’s Patrick Dangerfield and bounced straight back up.

Although he wasn’t captain at the time, that act still resonates with Taylor Walker today.

“I already knew he had that in him before that, but that one sticks in the memory,” Walker said of the contest.

“He’s an absolute warrior on the field who leads through his behaviours and actions, he’s set super high standards and been a consistent performer for nearly 15 years.

“An absolute gentleman with a massive heart and care for his teammates who always puts others before himself and is just a really good mate of mine which of late I’ve loved even more seeing our kids growing up together.”

James Podsiadly knew Sloane before he arrived at Adelaide from Geelong in 2014 and said his respect for him only grew from there.

“I don’t know the best description for him, but to me he’s the most respectful competitor I’ve seen,” Podsiadly said.

“When he crosses that white line he just wants to win and will do whatever it takes.

“Then off the field the way you see him around kids and families, teammates, staff and other players in the competition he’s all about respect, but let’s not park the fact that he’s a competitive beast.

“In my time playing at the Crows and then coaching for those four years he grew in his knowledge of the game, and it would have gone to another level since I left.

“Sloaney was a leader before he was captain and he will continue to be a leader through this transition with the captaincy.

“He’s a natural leader and I’m sure he’s got a big future in this space once he finishes playing footy in a few years’ time.”

Another feature of Sloane’s time as captain has been his preparedness and ability to push through the pain barrier and deal with his fair share of injuries.

Before the ACL injury last year was the detached retina – which could have cost him his vision and required surgery in 2021 – then a ruptured tendon in his finger a few months later which he opted to play with for the rest of the season rather than have surgery straight away.

If the team needed him, then the busted finger could wait. Whatever he could do to help, he would.

Which is why his decision to stand down as skipper and hand the job to Dawson this week came as no surprise to those who know him best, including Nicks.

“Today is the result of three years of conversations really around leadership and what’s going to make us better – and we’ve had the most selfless leader at the footy club in Rory Sloane,” Nicks said.

“The conversation was open and honest and ongoing, about finding that right leader who was going to take the baton and responsibility when the time was right.

“We’re really excited about what the future brings but I want to thank Rory for his unbelievable leadership in the time I’ve been at the football club and he will continue to have that leadership going forward no doubt.”