Rory Sloane

Rory Sloane (born 17 March 1990) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Sloane is a dual Malcolm Blight Medallist and was selected in the All-Australian team in 2016. He also won a Showdown Medal in 2017. Sloane served as Adelaide co-captain in 2019, and has served as the sole captain since the 2020 season.

Rory Sloane
Sloane playing for Adelaide in 2017
Personal information
Full name Rory Sloane
Date of birth (1990-03-17) 17 March 1990
Place of birth Melbourne, Victoria
Original team(s) Eastern Ranges (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 44, 2008 national draft
Debut Round 20, 2009, Adelaide
vs. Hawthorn, at the MCG
Height 182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Adelaide
Number 9
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2009– Adelaide 206 (125)
Representative team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2020 Victoria 1 (0)
International team honours
2017 Australia 2 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 12, 2020.
2 State and international statistics correct as of 2020.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Originally from Victoria, Sloane was first part of TAC Cup side Eastern Ranges under-18 side when he was only 16, and went on to captain Eastern Ranges in 2008. He was drafted by Adelaide with pick 44 in the 2008 AFL draft.[1]

Growing up, Sloane supported the St Kilda Football Club.[2]

AFL career

Sloane strained a medial ligament in his knee prior to the start of the 2009 season but upon returning quickly forced his way into the North Adelaide seniors in the SANFL and showed strong form, prompting Adelaide coach Neil Craig to comment, "He'll be an exciting player for us in the future…our supporters will like Rory Sloane."[3] Sloane made his AFL debut in round 20 against Hawthorn. He did not record a kick but had seven tackles.[4]

Sloane played his second game in round 1, 2010, but sustained a serious ankle injury during the clash against Fremantle which saw him out of the side for several weeks. He returned to play 14 matches for the season, averaging more than 15 disposals as a midfielder.[4] He also signed a new contract with the Crows during the year.[5]

For the second consecutive year, Sloane was injured in the first game in 2011, against Hawthorn, and was sidelined for several weeks with a fractured jaw and broken thumb.[6] After returning, Sloane played out the remainder of the season, averaging 20 disposals and 5 tackles per game, including a 36-possession game against eventual premiers Geelong in round 21. He continued his emergence as a star midfielder in 2012, averaging 22 possessions and earning three Brownlow votes for best-on-ground in crucial wins over Sydney and Fremantle.[7] Midway through the year, he revealed he had signed a three-year deal with the Crows, saying, "The way Brenton [Sanderson] and the rest of the coaching staff have gone about creating this really enjoyable environment for us to be involved in - I think that's a big reason why everyone wants to stay around".[8] Sloane lifted his game yet again in 2013, averaging 23.5 possessions, winning the Malcolm Blight Medal for the best and fairest Crows player, and polling 15 votes in the Brownlow Medal.[7]

Due to the season-ending Achilles injury sustained by captain Nathan van Berlo during pre-season training in 2014, Sloane and Patrick Dangerfield were named as acting co-captains of the Adelaide Football Club for the 2014 season.[9] Sloane continued to thrive in 2014, finishing second in the Malcolm Blight Medal behind Daniel Talia. He played his 100th AFL game in round 23 against St Kilda.[7]

In June 2015, Sloane signed a three-year contract extension with Adelaide, keeping him at the club until 2018.[10] Sloane twice injured his cheekbone during the season, missing a total of five games, but despite that remained one of the club's elite players, finishing sixth in Adelaide's best and fairest.[7]

Sloane had an outstanding year in 2016, averaging 25 disposals and leading the club in contested possessions and tackles.[7] He was considered a contender for the Brownlow Medal before being suspended for rough conduct late in the season, rendering him ineligible for the award.[11] Sloane was rewarded with his second Malcolm Blight Medal as the club's best and fairest player, and was also named vice-captain in the 2016 All-Australian team while being the runner-up in the AFLPA Most Valuable Player award.[12]

Sloane had an outstanding start to 2017, winning the Showdown Medal in round 3[13] and averaging 29.5 disposals per game while the Crows remained undefeated in the first six rounds. He started to struggle when other teams began heavily tagging him, Melbourne notably playing ex-Crow Bernie Vince on him, causing the Crows to lose their next two matches.[14] Sloane worked hard to improve against these tags, but again he struggled against Melbourne in round 17 when Vince kept him to just 8 possessions before he was knocked out in a Dean Kent tackle and sat out the rest of the game.[15] Before the Adelaide's qualifying final against Greater Western Sydney, Sloane had surgery to have his appendix removed and was forced to miss the match.[16] Sloane's strong performances throughout the season were respected by his teammates, who nominated him for both the AFL Players' Association MVP Award and the Most Courageous Award.[17]

Sloane's future was up in the air during the 2018 season as multiple clubs were eager to lure him back to his home state in Victoria. However, in a move the surprised many, Sloane resigned for a further five years to commit the rest of his career to Adelaide.[18]

In 2019, Sloane was appointed as co-captain of the Adelaide Football Club alongside Taylor Walker.

In 2020, Sloane assumed the sole captaincy and in round one played his 200th AFL game against the Sydney Swans at the Adelaide Oval,[19] which the Crows lost by three points.[20]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of round 12, 2020.[21]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Significant statistics
§ Led the league for the home-and-away season and after finals
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2009Adelaide31 100066170.00.00.06.06.01.07.00
2010Adelaide31 14788812421244490.50.66.38.915.13.13.50
2011Adelaide9 18111118118436573910.60.610.110.220.34.15.14
2012Adelaide9 241963012225231131010.80.312.59.321.84.74.211
2013Adelaide9 211212257237494113830.60.612.211.323.55.44.015
2014Adelaide9 221392692525211051470.60.412.211.523.74.86.710
2015Adelaide9 18113192208400781000.60.210.711.622.24.35.64
2016Adelaide9 231310271309580881630.60.411.813.425.23.87.124
2017Adelaide9 2420731426758175186§0.80.313.111.124.23.17.820
2018Adelaide9 125512613726333750.40.410.511.421.92.86.36
2019Adelaide9 22119266275541971290.50.412.112.524.64.45.97
2020[lower-alpha 1]Adelaide9 731515610711220.40.17.38.015.31.63.1
Career 2061258123162277459383111540.60.411.211.122.34.05.6101

Notes

  1. The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Team

Individual

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References
  1. Clark, John (29 November 2008). "AFL national draft as it happened at Telstra Dome in Melbourne". foxsports.com.au. Fox Sports.
  2. "AFL Trade Period: Former AFL coach believes Collingwood could lure Rory Sloane from Adelaide". Fox Sports Australia. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  3. Gill, Katrina (24 July 2009). "There's something about Rory". afc.com.au. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  4. "Rory Sloane". afltables.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  5. "Young Crows Rory Sloane and Jared Petrenko sign on". Herald Sun. 21 July 2010.
  6. Rucci, Michelangelo (28 March 2011). "Adelaide midfielder Rory Sloane played with broken jaw". The Adelaide Advertiser.
  7. "Rory Sloane - AFC.com.au". AFC.com.au. Adelaide Football Club.
  8. "Sloane sticks with Crows". Yahoo.com. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  9. Bednall, Jai (24 January 2014). "Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane will co-captain the Adelaide Crows". The Advertiser.
  10. "Sloane signs new deal". afc.com.au. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  11. "Adelaide star Rory Sloane is ineligible for the Brownlow Medal after being suspended". Herald Sun. 22 August 2016.
  12. Gaskin, Lee (23 September 2016). "Sloane joins Adelaide greats with second club champion award". afl.com.au. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  13. Gaskin, Lee (9 April 2017). "'We go in expecting to win every game'". afl.com.au. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  14. Gaskin, Lee (14 May 2017). "More to Crows' woes than quiet Sloane: Pyke". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  15. McGowan, Marc (16 July 2017). "Crows ready for test against Cats, says Pyke". afl.com.au. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  16. Ryan, Peter (7 September 2017). "Absent Sloane spells danger for Adelaide". afl.com.au. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  17. McNicholas, Aiden (8 September 2017). "AFLPA MVP nominees announced". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  18. Harrington, Anna (11 July 2018). "Rory Sloane signs a new five-year deal with Adelaide until the end of 2023". foxsports.com.au. Fox Sports. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  19. Larkin, Steve (20 March 2020). "Crows skipper Rory Sloane celebrates his 200th AFL game". Seven News. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  20. Gaskin, Lee (21 March 2020). "Tex sprays sealer, Swans survive Crow scare". Australian Football League. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  21. "Rory Sloane". AFL Tables. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
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