Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker has revealed the moment his son Louis delivered a hilarious verdict on his eventual retirement.
Walker said he was reminding sons Hugo, 5, and Louis, 4, that Rory Sloane had retired, when Louis blurted out an honest opinion of what he thought about his Dad hanging up the boots one day.
“I said ‘you know that Daddy is going to have to retire at some point’,” Walker said on Triple M with Roo, Ditts and Loz for Breakfast.
“Hugo turns around and says ‘no, Dad, I don’t want you to retire’.
“Louis yells out ‘I want you to retire’ and I said ‘why’s that?’ and he goes; ‘because you’re a boofhead’.
“I was like ‘oh, thanks, mate’.”
Walker’s preparation for his 18th AFL campaign continues this Thursday, when the Crows take on Brisbane in their AFL Community Series match.
It follows the side’s match simulation against Port Adelaide in Mount Barker last Friday, and Walker said there were plenty of positives to come out of that game.
“I loved Soligo, I thought Reilly O’Brien was great, Sid Draper was awesome, everyone showed some promising signs,” Walker said.
“It’s always good because you train against each other, then you come up against an opposition and you can never, ever train enough for it.
“We came out unscathed and we’ll have a very, very strong team going into Brisbane on Thursday, so I’m looking forward to getting up there and having a crack at the reigning Premier.”
The Crows have, however, confirmed they will be without Kieran Strachan this season, with the ruck being put on the inactive list after missing the entire pre-season due to a foot injury.
And in moving Strachan to the inactive list Adelaide signed former Swan Lachlan McAndrew under the AFL’s pre-season supplemental selection period (SSP), placing Kieran Strachan on the inactive list due to a foot injury.
“It’s a bitter-sweet story,” Walker said.
“Strachany had some navicular problems towards the end of the year, then he came back and started running again and had a little stress reaction in his heel.
“That was going to put him out for a fair period of time, we do feel for Strachany, he’s loved around the footy Club.
“Through sad stories, it creates good opportunities, so we’ve got Lachie McAndrew from the Sydney Swans. He’s a massive fella, you should see the flippers on him when he walks in.
“He’s been awesome…He’s a great addition and (it’s) very, very, very selfless from Strachany."
Adelaide faces Brisbane in its Community Series match at Brighton Homes Arena on Thursday, February 27 2025, at 7.40pm (ACDT).
The Crows will then kick off their 2025 AFL season with a clash against St Kilda at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, March 16, at 12.05pm.
Tickets available here.
