SLOANE MAY BE IN STRIFE
ADELAIDE star Rory Sloane says he hasn’t considered the possibility he might miss Saturday’s grand final as a result of his huge collision with Patrick Dangerfield on Friday night.
But Sloane’s body is still telling him he was involved in a massive hit, revealing he was feeling sore in the face, neck and chest.
Sloane’s captain Taylor Walker has also bristled at suggestions Sloane could possibly be suspended.
Both midfield guns were attacking the footy in Geelong’s forward line late in the second quarter when they smashed into each other, with Dangerfield left prone on the turf for about 10 seconds after the hit.
Some people have dared to question whether Sloane might find himself under the gaze of the Match Review Panel tomorrow given he appeared to inadvertently collect his former teammate high.
But the player himself wasn’t too fazed yesterday.
“I haven’t really thought about it too much,” Sloane said.
“I suppose it was just a big hit, a collision. We’ve both pulled up pretty sore from it.
“It’s something that’s out of my control now, we’ll see what happens.”
Sloane walked fans through his thought processes as it became clear he was about to crash head-on with one of his good mates.
“At the start I was like ‘I’ve got to tackle him’,” Sloane said.
“And when you look at Danger — and I’ve played with him and now against him many times — I was like ‘this is going to be a hard man to tackle and stop’.
“Then once he handballed I just tried to intercept the handball, basically, and then we just collided. I don’t really remember too much about the collision, I just remember pulling up a bit sore last night. My face, my neck, my chest is all a bit sore.
“You definitely know when you hit Patty, he’s an absolute bull.
“I hope he’s feeling fine this morning, it was certainly a solid hit from both of us.”
Walker said “why wouldn’t he be?” when asked if Sloane is now preparing to play in a grand final.
And he poked fun at his mate Dangerfield for the time it took him to get back to his feet after the clash.
“Did he stay down?! It was like someone was doing a roof climb and snipered him,” Walker said. “I loved it. That’s what footy is about.”
The Crows’ list this season features no players who have played off for an AFL flag.
But there will be plenty of advice close at hand if the Adelaide players want to ask about the week ahead.
Coach Don Pyke is a twotime West Coast premiership player and his assistants also are loaded with experience at the business end of the season.
Ryan O’Keefe, who coaches the Crows’ SANFL team, is a two-time Sydney premiership player.
James Podsiadly won a flag in his playing days at Geelong and Scott Camporeale did the same at Carlton.
“You definitely know when you hit Patty, he’s an absolute bull” RORY SLOANE