Walker 'confident' of being fit to play against Melbourne
Taylor Walker says he's ready but Crows coach may make him wait
TAYLOR Walker has declared himself ready to make his AFL return this weekend but admits the decision of whether he plays for Adelaide is up to coach Brenton Sanderson.
The power forward moved brilliantly all night, testing out his reconstructed right knee with several cutting leads and throwing himself into contests.
After the club's AFL win over the Western Bulldogs on Sunday, Sanderson said it was his gut feel that Walker would need another run in the state league before gaining senior selection.
But Walker, 24, said his confidence in his knee was such that he would have no concern lining up against Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
"I played on the weekend so I'm more than confident that I'd be right [if selected] … I'll just be guided by what 'Sando' says," Walker said on Monday.
"I'll recover form the weekend and when I get the chance I'll sit down with Sando and 'Bicks' (forward line coach Mark Bickley) and we'll have that chat as to when I play."
Walker said he'd deliberately lost 3-4kg during his time off in order to boost his mobility around the ground.
Regardless of whether he plays against the Demons on Saturday, Walker said he'd look forward to re-uniting with former teammate and good friend Bernie Vince.
"I'm sure I'll catch up with him, whether it's playing against him or after the game but yeah it'll be good fun," he said.
Meanwhile, the Crows have confirmed Patrick Dangerfield will play against Melbourne after the star midfielder recovered well from a knock to his ribs.
Defenders Sam Shaw (corked leg) and Ben Rutten (knee) will both face fitness tests ahead of the clash against the Dees. Rutten has missed the past fortnight with a niggling knee injury, while Shaw was substituted early in the last quarter on Sunday.
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