Adelaide confident of Walsh tribute

CROWS midfielder Rory Sloane is confident his Adelaide teammates are ready to resume in the AFL — and prepared to honour coach Phil Walsh — after a buoyant training session at Subiaco Oval yesterday.

Often regarded as the soul of the Crows unit, the injured Sloane today declared his teammates have found spirit in the game they —and Walsh — loved.

“The last few days we’ve gotten back to a good routine — it is what we know, it is what has worked for us all year,” Sloane said as the Crows reached Perth a week after Walsh’s death at his Somerton Park home.

“We flew over as a team together today — and we have started talking footy. So that has definitely helped.”

Adelaide plays West Coast — another of the seven clubs Walsh served in his 32 years as a player and coach in the VFLAFL — with both the Crows and Eagles challenged to overcome their emotions to deliver a meaningful football tribute to Walsh today.

“Phil strived for elite standards — and tough hard players who played team first ... I’m expecting to see the boys play like that tomorrow,” he said.

“I think they’re coping OK,” coach Adam Simpson said of the Eagles.

“We got through the game last week with a heightened emotional connection to what happened. It feels like they’re OK this week.”