Sloane expects to play in AFL grand final

Rory Sloane’s teammates have defended him for the bump that floored Patrick Dangerfield, saying it was simply two committed players going for the ball.

The Adelaide vice-captain will most likely come under match review panel scrutiny for the incident during Friday night’s AFL preliminary final win over Geelong, given there was high contact.

But the collison happened as Dangerfield was handballing and Sloane had no time to avoid or lessen the impact.

Asked if Sloane is now preparing for the grand final, Crows captain Taylor Walker told Triple M: “Why wouldn’t he be? … I loved it (the bump). That’s what footy is about.”

Adelaide key forward Tom Lynch also doubts there will be any trouble.

“They both went for the ball and they just ran into each other,” Lynch said.

Dangerfield had to leave the ground after the bump late in the second quarter, but played out the match.

Sloane returned to the team on Friday night after missing their qualifying final because he needed his appendix removed.

He told SEN that he had not given any thought to Monday’s MRP deliberations.

“I suppose it was just a big hit, a collision,” he said.

“I haven’t thought about it really. It’s something that’s out of my control now, we’ll see what happens.”

Sloane initially thought he could tackle Dangerfield, before realising that would not work.

“Once he handballed I just tried to intercept the handball, basically, and then we just collided,” Sloane said.

“I don’t really remember too much … My face, my neck, my chest is all a bit sore.

“You definitely know when you hit Patty, he’s an absolute bull.”

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