Adelaide forward Taylor Walker watched the Crows’ Perth clash from afar last weekend, but he still had a teammate by his side. 

Walker was rested for Round Nine as part of a long-term management plan and said he would be “fresh and ready to go” to take on Melbourne. 

“It’s one of those things… when you get a little bit older,” Walker told Triple M's Roo & Ditts. 

“We’d planned to have a bit of a rest throughout the year and it just happened to be this week.”

While the rest of the squad was out west, Walker welcomed another young Crow into his home. 

“I had little Ned McHenry come around and watch it,” he said. 

McHenry was sidelined from the Crows' Round Nine clash under the AFL's concussion protocols following a heavy hit in the Showdown. 

Walker said he was impressed by his side despite the loss. 

“I walked away quite proud of the boys’ efforts.

“We all want to win but it’s a great development game and a good step forward for our group.”

Walker said he’d be pushing Senior Coach Matthew Nicks hard for selection in Round 10. 

“I’ll make Nicksy pull every last hair out cause I’m gonna annoy him that much this week,” he said. 

“(Melbourne is) going quite well at the moment so it’s going to be a great test for us.

“I think the last two weeks we’ve played some pretty good footy… maybe it might be the one that we steal.”