Contract negotiations on hold as Adelaide Crows midfielder looks to cement team role
Adelaide Crows midfielder Sam Berry has put off contract talks for later, as he focuses his energy on cementing his place in the team’s engine room. Journalist Riley Beveridge said it was only a matter of time before the player makes up his mind.
Berry’s blooming year was 2022 when he led the AFL in tackles. A season later, he had an injury-ridden campaign that has left him struggling to solidify his spot on the team in the first half of this year.
The 22-year-old has featured in only nine games this season but in seven of those, he was either a tactical substitute or was replaced midway through the match.
Reporting on the midfielder's contract talks with the Adelaide Crows, or the lack thereof, Beveridge said (via afl.com.au):
"We've been in constant dialogue with (Adelaide list manager) Justin Reid going through where he sits. They're really happy with how he's progressing and can see a future there. It's just a matter of timing for Sam. We'll go through that a bit later on."
Speaking on afl.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable last week, Berry’s agent Tom Seccull from Hemisphere Management Group disclosed that he had told the Adelaide Crows that the youngster would focus solely on his football for the most of the season. He said:
"'Bez' has had a mixed first couple of years, I guess you'd say. His second year, he was top 10 in their best and fairest and played 17 or 18 games and was leading the AFL for tackles. The next year, he only managed four or five games. There was a change-up in the midfield with Matt Crouch coming back in and Jordan Dawson as well. This year, we'd said from the start that Sam was probably just going to play the year and see how it goes and where he fits in and everything. That hasn't changed.”
Kane Cornes on Adelaide’s Taylor Walker: “Adelaide Crows must make tough call on Walker’s future”
Adelaide Crows’ key forward Taylor Walker, who reportedly has always dreamed of being a Crows’ loyalist, is in a position to decide whether he wants to be a one-club hero or find an encore at any of the rival clubs that have shown interest in him. As a columnist for The Age, Swans legend Kane Cornes wrote about Walker earlier today.
Walker has spent 16 years as a heart-and-soul image of the Adelaide Crows, and Cornes believes it is about time he leaves or coach Matthew Nicks makes the move for him. He wrote:
“Nicks needs to make a tough call. So does Walker. This is not the first time Walker has been tested on his childhood dream to be a Crow and only a Crow. Last year we were told Walker was willing to finish his career at another AFL club if Adelaide chose not to re-sign him.”
In conclusion, Cornes dealt the decision to the club as he seems convinced that Walker’s management would not make the move. He wrote:
“Once again, there is this image of the Walker camp loading the agenda to pressure Adelaide into talks on a new deal. The Crows should stare down Walker’s threats and inform him that this season will be his last at their club…He is a lovely person, a genuine nice guy, but he needs a hard edge."