Many scoffed at the prospect of Taylor Walker playing on a wing when it was floated at the start of the pre-season campaign. 

But one week out from Adelaide’s opening game of the Marsh Community Series, senior coach Matthew Nicks has indicated the Crows may indeed trial Walker up the ground leading into Round One.

Speaking on Melbourne breakfast radio on Thursday, Nicks said the former skipper could play the position and “delivers the ball as well as anyone inside 50 by foot”. 

At first glance, it’s hard to argue with the coach’s claim. 

Who could forget Walker’s run down the MCG wing in the 2015 Elimination Final, and the subsequent inboard pass to Charlie Cameron to seal victory over the Western Bulldogs?

The 29-year-old has proven to be equally adept on his left foot, highlighted in the clip below with his pinpoint pass to Eddie Betts in Round Four last year.

While he has spent almost all of his career as a forward, Nicks sees value in isolating the 194cm Walker on a wing as an offensive outlet option.

The Richardson / Riewoldt comparison

The obvious comparison to Walker’s mooted positional switch is Richmond great Matthew Richardson, who moved up the ground in 2008 to claim a stunning podium finish in the Brownlow Medal count. 

At 34, Richardson averaged a career-high 18.3 disposals per game while still kicking 48 goals for the season.

According to Champion Data, Richardson spent 23 per cent of the season on a wing, with the remainder of his time locked in the forward half. Additionally, the Tigers great spent 25 per cent or more of game time on a wing in just nine of his 20 games.

St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt made a similar transformation in 2016 to average career-high disposals while kicking 41 goals, with 31 per cent of his time on a wing.

The numbers – Richardson and Riewoldt

How do Taylor Walker’s numbers stack up?

While Walker isn’t known for his marking prowess like Richardson and Riewoldt, his career numbers certainly measure up next to the champion duo, particularly in front of goal.

* Goal assists and inside 50s have only recorded from 2007.

From 2015, Walker sits seventh in the League for total scoreboard impact. 

Over the past five seasons, he has booted 229 goals to be within reach Tony Modra as Adelaide’s leading goalkicker.

During that period, Walker has generated 364 inside 50s for the Crows, second only to captain Rory Sloane, with a notable 116 goals produced from those entries.

Only 11 AFL players have generated over 100 goals from inside 50s over the past five years, with Walker’s score percentage (55.2%) significantly higher than Lance Franklin (47%), Dayne Zorko (43.9%) and Luke Shuey (42.2%).

Inside 50 Results – 2015-2019 (via Champion Data)

While these stats certainly validate Nicks’ high regard of Walker’s forward arc entries, there is a lot more to succeeding as a modern-day AFL wingman than kicking prowess.

How Taylor Walker on a wing could work

Like Richardson and Riewoldt before him, it is highly unlikely Walker would ever be deployed on a wing in a full-time capacity. 

Rory Atkins (82.1 per cent of game time) and Paul Seedsman (78.8 per cent) spent the bulk of time on the wings for Adelaide in 2019, supported by David Mackay, Riley Knight, Wayne Milera and teenager Chayce Jones.

Nicks suggested Walker could be pushed up onto a wing to pinch-hit if his side needed extra attacking firepower going inside forward 50. 

“Whether it’s (Darcy) Fogarty coming out of the square, that’s the sort of picture we’re looking at. 

“We’ll trial some of these things (but) nothing’s wrong and nothing’s a lock at this point.”