Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks not rushing to push Taylor Walker towards retirement
Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks says the club is in no rush to push ex-captain Taylor Walker towards retirement, despite selecting Riley Thilthorpe in the draft.
After a dismal season in 2020, the Crows chose the agile 200 cm ruck/forward with the No.2 pick in the draft, with the young gun already earning rave reviews around the league.
With Adelaide embarking on a youth movement, Walker's future has been heavily debated, but Nicks is adamant that he still has a role to play at the club.
"If a younger player who is 18 is good enough to push Tex out, then goodness me we'd be silly not to play that kid," Nicks told 3AW's Sportsday.
Taylor Walker watches on from the bench during Adelaide's practice match against Port Adelaide Getty
"At the moment that's not happening. Tex is 30 years old, he's not 32 or 33 or 34."
While Walker's best days may be behind him, Nicks said there was still an opportunity for the club's all-time leading goalkicker to add to his legacy.
"I hope a Riley Thilthorpe, for example, is able to lift his game to a standard where he goes past Tex," Nicks added.
"And (then) Tex is happy to say 'you know what, I did a fair bit of work on developing this young kid', and he can leave a legacy.
"I expect him to play as many games as we possibly can with him."
No.2 pick Riley Thilthorpe was impressive in a SANFL hit-out, kicking four goals Getty
Walker managed to kick just 15 goals in 14 games last season, but Nicks conceded that the 30-year-old is still the club's best forward.
"Our conversations have been around 'mate, you make it hard for these kids, I don't want to gift them any games,'" he said.
"We're not going to gift games, they have got to earn their spot.
"At the moment, he's our best forward. He's performing really well, he's crashing in, he's competing."
