Player Watch Rory Sloane - Retired

[MsTopG]

Classy

Honest unlike some.

 

[Some Idiot]

Loved watching Rory, farewell champ

 

[jenny61_99]

He gave it everything on the field. At his best, it would regularly be Sloane that would make sure we'd win if the game was on the line. From his gut running as an outside mid, up and down the MCG, as we nearly beat one of the great teams in a preliminary final in 2012, to his emergence as a genuine star of the game, taking over our midfield when Dangerfield departed and again, being so close to leading the side to a premiership in 2017. His ability to take a strong mark and kick an important goal, when it mattered, was second to none.

The last third of his career has been tough on and off the field, but his personality has shone through. Always positive, it is this legacy that the current players can carry through, and with a bit of luck and a work ethic like Sloane, can take the club to the ultimate success.

For a generation, Sloane, and Tex, have been strong leaders of the club. Following on from Ricciuto and Goodwin prior. Even when behind the scenes, things were going to pieces, they stood tall and firm and with good character, humour and an ability to put things into perspective, lead the way.

As they say, it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye, and it has been near the end for a while now for Sloane. It will be interesting to see what he does next. A Victorian that has done the Crows and South Australian football, proud.

Thanks for your efforts Rory Sloane.

This is Perfect!

 

[50BC]

Right decision, should have gone end of last season really, but I'm glad he's not risking further eye injuries

 

[SellarStardom]

True champion of the game, great bloke and got everything out of himself. That game he was microphone up for during COVID gave insight and was testament to the legend this guy was amongst the players.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

If you haven’t watched his press conference it is definitely worth the investment of time.

 

[Saliba]

A club great!
Thank you Rory

 

[Rotayjay]

Rory is everything an AFL player (or a sportsperson in general for that matter) should be - tough, fair and bleeds for the jumper. Nobody can say this bloke hasn't given it his all. All the best for your health and family mate!

 

[NSolis]

All best for Sloaney and his family in his retirement. Fantastic servant of the club. His lead from the front toughness at the footy and gut running made him one of the better players our club has ever had. We'd be utter miserable fools to make his last few years as his defining contribution to the Adelaide Football Club. We all loved Sloaney, pretending you dont now is dumb and only embarrassing.

I will say that Sloaney's retirement came 8 months too late. I get the Champion inside of him wanted to prove last year was an aberration but the writing on the wall even before his injury had him showing signs of slowing down. At 34yrs this was not going to change.

Even within last year the second half of his year was much worse than the first. He had some good games in the first half of the year and picked up coaches votes on a few occasions. The majority of the post-bye games were really bad, which is a sad way to go out.

 

[BACCS]

Hard to watch this without getting tears yourself!

 

[George Kramer]

I haven’t been a fan of Rory over recent years and I haven’t been a fan of his Saint persona as I don’t think it’s actually true. I also hate it when our players play on too long, it creates resentment and it’s also a sign of the incompetence of our club that we can’t make the tough calls. There’s no doubt keeping him for the extra year reduced our list flexibility when he was already past it.

However he’s been one of the better long term players we’ve had. He had some great years when he was supremely valuable to the team and one of the better players in the comp.

As sad as it is for him to end this way and I hope he doesn’t have any long term issues with his sight, but going out this way saves his legacy. If he played he would have deteriorated further than last year when he was bad. There would have been the scrutiny “Will Rory be dropped”. Now that decision never needs to be made and he is saved the indignity of finishing his career as a dropped player.

 

[Bramax]

Champion.
What a player.
What a person.
Celebrate him like he deserves Adelaide.

 

[Pugsley]

If you haven’t watched his press conference it is definitely worth the investment of time.

True professional.

 

[Sloaneforpm]

Not a frequent poster, and certainly echo the consensus that sloaney went on too long. The name may give away my affections for him at the time when I made this account, presumably with the intent to share in another moment he gave us.

Seeing his press conference should tell everyone what they need to know about him. Be a cynic if you like, but to me, I think it gave us just a glimpse into the heart and soul he has given this club. Very few on this earth capable of such a depth of grit and determination to be better, for others and himself.

Thanks sloaney.

 

[BunjiMC]

I haven’t been a fan of Rory over recent years and I haven’t been a fan of his Saint persona as I don’t think it’s actually true. I also hate it when our players play on too long, it creates resentment and it’s also a sign of the incompetence of our club that we can’t make the tough calls. There’s no doubt keeping him for the extra year reduced our list flexibility when he was already past it.

However he’s been one of the better long term players we’ve had. He had some great years when he was supremely valuable to the team and one of the better players in the comp.

As sad as it is for him to end this way and I hope he doesn’t have any long term issues with his sight, but going out this way saves his legacy. If he played he would have deteriorated further than last year when he was bad. There would have been the scrutiny “Will Rory be dropped”. Now that decision never needs to be made and he is saved the indignity of finishing his career as a dropped player.

Such kind words.

 

[George Kramer]

Such kind words.

Well I could fake it, I prefer to be genuine to how I feel

 

[BunjiMC]

Well I could fake it, I prefer to be genuine to how I feel

Or just say nothing. Sometimes that also a good choice.

 

[Samcro24]

Hard to watch this without getting tears yourself!

“Yeah I enjoy seeing”

 

[George Kramer]

Or just say nothing. Sometimes that also a good choice.

True, but didn’t realise only positive gushing posts were allowed and what was incorrect about what I said?

 

[cmndstab]

“Yeah I enjoy seeing”

That was a laugh line which worked with his teammates, so he then tried to roll it out around half a dozen times in the press conference to stony-faced silence

 

[BunjiMC]

I haven’t been a fan of Rory over recent years and I haven’t been a fan of his Saint persona as I don’t think it’s actually true. I also hate it when our players play on too long, it creates resentment and it’s also a sign of the incompetence of our club that we can’t make the tough calls. There’s no doubt keeping him for the extra year reduced our list flexibility when he was already past it.

However he’s been one of the better long term players we’ve had. He had some great years when he was supremely valuable to the team and one of the better players in the comp.

As sad as it is for him to end this way and I hope he doesn’t have any long term issues with his sight, but going out this way saves his legacy. If he played he would have deteriorated further than last year when he was bad. There would have been the scrutiny “Will Rory be dropped”. Now that decision never needs to be made and he is saved the indignity of finishing his career as a dropped player.

That's the most unnecessary part.

 

[Bovo]

He certainly played his heart out, never shirked an issue out on the field.

I don’t get why loyalty gets brought up all the time though. Is it because he was mates with danger and he stayed while danger bailed?

We (over)paid through the nose to keep him.

In my mind nothing to do with Danger. Sloane

He certainly played his heart out, never shirked an issue out on the field.

I don’t get why loyalty gets brought up all the time though. Is it because he was mates with danger and he stayed while danger bailed?

We (over)paid through the nose to keep him.

Not sure if i replied or not lol

Maybe Loyalty is not the right word. But throughout our toughest periods he’s been reliable. Forget the Danger comparison, it has nothing to do with that. Those two lads took different directions that meant being true to themselves. I just can’t think of the right word to describe him perhaps. Loyal does sound right. I think he can hold his head up and say both on and off the field he always tried his best for his team.

 

[George Kramer]

That's the most unnecessary part.

That’s hardly a crime. I’ve made my opinion on Sloane well known, to not acknowledge that in my post I feel would have been hypocritical.

Anyway moving on

 

[Ciao Giacomo]

I think it’s important to vilify all of our champion players when they reach 30 years of age.

I recently revisited the Tex thread in 2020. Do the words “ Just piss off Tex” bring back any memories?

Like almost everyone on this Board I thought Rory should have retired at the end of last year but he provided us with an enormous amount of enjoyment over his career. Thanks for the memories Sloaney!

 

[Firewalker]

He seemed out the door until offers dried up due to his foot injury.

He also stated on 5aa that his last contract was about looking after himself.

This is all fine. I just reject the warm and fuzzy perception that he’s somehow more loyal than any other professional athlete.

His “loyalty” cost a packet. Probably the biggest deal in our history.

Good servant but was a player I never really took to on the field or off the field tbh.

I have much more of an emotional attachment to Tex.

Can definitely understand these sentiments, post that 2018 signing and the details coming out about the deal the foolhardy respect I’d had previously for him waned, I started to totally doubt everything he said in the media and I would cringed every time someone called him team-first or the epitome of a great leader. There was a level of selfishness that of-course most professional athletes do have that became hard for him to hide away from post-2018, even today in his press conference when he couldn’t help but say he shouldn’t have been playing last year due to all the meniscus damage in his knee post ACL but he still used his status at the football club to get picked.

Didn’t want to get into it today where we should celebrate the good he did on-field prior to 2018 but at the end of the day you can’t avoid the fact that it is widely accepted after St Kilda’s original (prior to foot injury) 4-year $850k offer the Crows hierarchy in total desperation straight out offered him that 5-year $5 million deal to stay and the contract was a horrible noose around the club’s neck and probably the most costly contract to the club’s future since Tippett’s 2009 deal. At the end of the day the club paid him that money as a PR stunt and Sloane & his manager held the club to ransom & extorted the club given the intimate knowledge they had of the goings on of the place especially at the time.

I do think it should never escape knowledge when summing up Rory Sloane’s time at the Crows that the 5-year, $5 million deal cost the club about $65,000 per game as he played 78 out of a possible 106 in that contract span with a lot of those games he did play injury affected as well. It was the worst of worst Adelaide Crows list management so blame them mostly but they were in a horrible spot. If it happened at any other club you’d laugh it off and say well done Rory you absolutely fleeced them, your playing career is short get the most money as humanly possible and look after the most important people, you and your own family but because it hits way too close to home it should never just be swept under the rug when supporters sum up his career at the club.

As a professional athlete you should never blame Rory, he used all he had in terms of personality and doggedness to get the absolute best out of himself on-field and out of others off-field, unfortunately those who do seem perfect in a lot of facets in life and/or sport are able to still leave victims in their wake and people can rightly feel he certainly did not enhance the football club over the last 7 years.