Rory Sloane (born 17 March 1990) is a professional

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

(AFL). Sloane is a dual

Malcolm Blight Medal The Malcolm Blight Medal is a post-season award given to the best and fairest player for the Adelaide Football Club. The medal was first awarded in 1991, and later named after former Adelaide Crows coach Malcolm Blight. The voting system as of the ...

list and was selected in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

in 2016. He also won a

Showdown Medal The Showdown Medal is the medal awarded to the player adjudged best on ground in the Showdown AFL match between Adelaide and Port Adelaide. It is thus similar to the Ross Glendinning Medal awarded in Western Derby games. However, no medal is a ...

in 2017. Sloane served as Adelaide co-captain in 2019, and has served as the sole captain since the 2020 season.

Early life

Originally from Victoria, Sloane was first part of

TAC Cup The NAB League Boys (also referred to as simply the NAB League and formerly known as the TAC Cup) is an under-19 Australian rules football representative competition held in Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victo ...

side

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Leag ...

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. Growing up, Sloane supported the St Kilda Football Club.

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 seniors in the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

and showed strong form, prompting Adelaide coach

Neil Craig Neil Passmore Craig (born 11 January 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Norwood Football Club, Sturt Football Club and the North Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). ...

to comment, "He'll be an exciting player for us in the future…our supporters will like Rory Sloane." Sloane made his AFL debut in round 20 against . He did not record a kick but had seven tackles. Sloane played his second game in round 1, 2010, but sustained a serious ankle injury during the clash against 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. He also signed a new contract with the Crows during the year. 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. 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 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 and Fremantle. Midway through the year, he revealed he had signed a three-year deal with the Crows, saying, "The way Brenton

anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

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". Sloane lifted his game yet again in 2013, averaging 23.5 possessions, winning the

for the best and fairest Crows player, and polling 15 votes in the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as "Charlie"), is awarded to the " best and fairest" player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by ...

. Due to the season-ending Achilles injury sustained by captain

Nathan van Berlo Nathan van Berlo (born 6 June 1986) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the club with pick 24 in the 2004 National Draft. He was th ...

during pre-season training in 2014, Sloane and

Patrick Dangerfield Patrick Dangerfield (born 5 April 1990) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Adelaide Football Club. Drafted by Adelaide in 2007, Dangerfi ...

were named as acting co-captains of the Adelaide Football Club for the 2014 season. Sloane continued to thrive in 2014, finishing second in the Malcolm Blight Medal behind

Daniel Talia Daniel Talia (born 2 October 1991) is a former professional Australian rules football player who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted with selection 13 in the 2009 National Draft from th ...

. He played his 100th AFL game in round 23 against . In June 2015, Sloane signed a three-year contract extension with Adelaide, keeping him at the club until 2018. 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. Sloane had an outstanding year in 2016, averaging 25 disposals and leading the club in contested possessions and tackles. He was considered a contender for the

before being suspended for rough conduct late in the season, rendering him ineligible for the award. 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. Sloane had an outstanding start to 2017, winning the

in round 3 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, notably playing ex-Crow Bernie Vince on him, causing the Crows to lose their next two matches. 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. Before Adelaide's qualifying final against , Sloane had surgery to have his appendix removed and was forced to miss the match. 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. 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 Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. However, in a move the surprised many, Sloane resigned for a further five years to commit the rest of his career to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. 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 Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

, which the Crows lost by three points. Sloane injured his knee in Adelaide's win over Richmond in round 5 of the 2022 season; scans later confirmed a ruptured

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

, forcing him to miss the rest of the season.

Statistics

''Updated to the end of the 2022 season''. , - , 2009 , , , , 31 , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , , 6 , , 6 , , 1 , , 7 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 6.0 , , 6.0 , , 1.0 , , 7.0 , , 0 , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, , , , 31 , 14 , , 7 , , 8 , , 88 , , 124 , , 212 , , 44 , , 49 , , 0.5 , , 0.6 , , 6.3 , , 8.9 , , 15.1 , , 3.1 , , 3.5 , , 0 , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, , , , 9 , 18 , , 11 , , 11 , , 181 , , 184 , , 365 , , 73 , , 91 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 10.1 , , 10.2 , , 20.3 , , 4.1 , , 5.1 , , 4 , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, , , , 9 , 24 , , 19 , , 6 , , 301 , , 222 , , 523 , , 113 , , 101 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 12.5 , , 9.3 , , 21.8 , , 4.7 , , 4.2 , , 11 , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, , , , 9 , 21 , , 12 , , 12 , , 257 , , 237 , , 494 , , 113 , , 83 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 12.2 , , 11.3 , , 23.5 , , 5.4 , , 4.0 , , 15 , - , 2014 , , , , 9 , 22 , , 13 , , 9 , , 269 , , 252 , , 521 , , 105 , , 147 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 12.2 , , 11.5 , , 23.7 , , 4.8 , , 6.7 , , 10 , - ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, , , , 9 , 18 , , 11 , , 3 , , 192 , , 208 , , 400 , , 78 , , 100 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 10.7 , , 11.6 , , 22.2 , , 4.3 , , 5.6 , , 4 , - , 2016 , , , , 9 , 23 , , 13 , , 10 , , 271 , , 309 , , 580 , , 88 , , 163 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 11.8 , , 13.4 , , 25.2 , , 3.8 , , 7.1 , , 24 , - , 2017 , , , , 9 , 24 , , 20 , , 7 , , 314 , , 267 , , 581 , , 75 , , bgcolor=CAE1FF , 186^† , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 13.1 , , 11.1 , , 24.2 , , 3.1 , , 7.8 , , 20 , - , 2018 , , , , 9 , 12 , , 5 , , 5 , , 126 , , 137 , , 263 , , 33 , , 75 , , 0.4 , , 0.4 , , 10.5 , , 11.4 , , 21.9 , , 2.8 , , 6.3 , , 6 , - , 2019 , , , , 9 , 22 , , 11 , , 9 , , 266 , , 275 , , 541 , , 97 , , 129 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 12.1 , , 12.5 , , 24.6 , , 4.4 , , 5.9 , , 7 , - ,

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, , , , 9 , 12 , , 5 , , 3 , , 92 , , 97 , , 189 , , 15 , , 49 , , 0.4 , , 0.3 , , 7.7 , , 8.1 , , 15.8 , , 1.3 , , 4.1 , , 3 , - ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, , , , 9 , 18 , , 3 , , 2 , , 198 , , 204 , , 402 , , 67 , , 87 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 11.0 , , 11.3 , , 22.3 , , 3.7 , , 4.8 , , 2 , - ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, , , , 9 , 4 , , 0 , , 1 , , 36 , , 36 , , 72 , , 12 , , 17 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 9.0 , , 9.0 , , 18.0 , , 3.0 , , 4.3 , , 0 , - class=sortbottom ! colspan=3 , Career ! 233 !! 130 !! 86 !! 2591 !! 2558 !! 5149 !! 914 !! 1285 !! 0.6 !! 0.4 !! 11.1 !! 11.0 !! 22.1 !! 3.9 !! 5.5 !! 106 Notes

Honours and achievements

Team *

McClelland Trophy The McClelland Trophy is an Australian rules football trophy which has been awarded each year since 1951 by the Australian Football League (known prior to 1990 as the Victorian Football League) to the best-performing club in the home-and-away sea ...

(): 2017 Individual * Adelaide captain: 2019–present *

: 2016 * 2×

: 2013, 2016 * Robert Rose Award: 2017 * Australia representative honours in

international rules football International rules football ( ga, Peil na rialacha idirnáisiunta; also known as international rules in Australia and compromise rules or Aussie rules in Ireland) is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed ...

: 2017 * Victoria representative honours in

State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match The State of Origin for Bushfire Relief Match was a one-off all-star game between two representative sides organised by the Australian Football League to raise funds for recovery efforts following the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. Th ...

: 2017 (game 1) * 22under22 team: 2012

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sloane, Rory Adelaide Football Club players North Adelaide Football Club players 1990 births Living people Eastern Ranges players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Malcolm Blight Medal winners All-Australians (AFL) Australian people of Irish descent Australia international rules football team players