ADELAIDE vice-captain Rory Sloane has slammed suggestions Crows skipper Taylor Walker be replaced as "ridiculous" and has lauded the leadership he shows on and off the field.
Inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes told Adelaide radio station FIVEaa this week that Walker should be stripped of the captaincy, while former Port Adelaide midfielder Kane Cornes believes Sloane should lead the club in the future.
"It's a bit ridiculous really," Sloane told AFL.com.au.
CROWS V POWER Will it be another Showdown-to-the-wire?
"This is the thing, we see what goes on inside these four walls with Tex and he's an unbelievable leader.
"People can have their opinions outside, but they're silly opinions really.
"What matters to us is what he does in here and that's what's respected among the playing group."
Walker has twice been voted the best captain in the competition by the AFL Players' Association.
"I think that probably sums up exactly where he's at with his captaincy and how silly those other remarks are," Sloane added.
Walker has captained the Crows since 2015 and is the same age (28) as Sloane, who was promoted to vice-captain last year.
Sloane will be a Crow for life after signing a five-year contract extension until the end of 2023.
As to whether co-captaincy is an option to help ease the burden on Walker – who is contracted until 2021 - Sloane said: "That's what I think a vice-captain is for, to take the pressure off, that kind of thing.
"I'm there to help Tex out absolutely all through this.
"I'll say it again; the stuff that Tex does inside these four walls is unbelievable and we couldn't have a better captain at the footy club."
Walker will lead the Crows into battle for Showdown 45 with cross-town rivals Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
It's been an interrupted season for Sloane after the dual club champion and 2016 All Australian was sidelined for 10 weeks with a minor strain of the Lisfranc ligament in his foot.
But having played the past five games, he's starting to feel more comfortable having come back from a potentially serious injury.
"I was a bit nervous coming back after it and it was a bit unknown how it would feel," he said.
"It's pulled up really well after every game.
"That agility, short-step stuff was the thing I didn't know how I'd go with and that's the bit that's feeling the best at the moment."
Sloane is no stranger to the heightened pressure and intensity of Showdowns.
He's got an 8-4 win-loss record from the 12 he's played in, and won the Showdown Medal in the Crows' 17-point win in round three, 2017.
"It's that finals-like contested ball style of game," Sloane said.
"That's the bit I always look forward to.
"Then it's just the whole crowd, the whole build-up and it means a lot to the South Australian people.
"We've shifted a little bit over the last few years in terms of, although it's a huge rivalry, it brings the state together as well.
"It's a great game."
The Power claimed a thrilling five-point victory in round eight – when Sloane was injured – courtesy of Steven Motlop's match-winning goal with 21 seconds on the clock.
That ended a streak of five straight Crows victories and levelled the overall ledger at 22-all.
The 12th-placed Crows (9-9) must win their remaining four games and hope other results go their way to snatch an unlikely finals berth.
"Mathematically, it's still possible," Sloane said.
"The pleasing thing for us is we're back playing the footy we know we can play.
"We've just got to make sure we keep winning."
