Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera's AFL decision down to two as Adelaide ruled out
That's according to The Agenda Setters' Caroline Wilson, who revealed on Monday night that the in-demand Indigenous defender would be uncomfortable at the Crows after a racism incident that dates back to 2021.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: St Kilda star rules out one Adelaide-based club ahead of contract decision.
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Former Adelaide captain Taylor Walker was slapped with a six-game ban and fined $20,000 in 2021 for a racist slur he made towards then-North Adelaide SANFL player Robbie Young.
Wilson says that still burns in the mind of Wanganeen-Milera, who is yet to commit to the Saints beyond this year and has strong interest from both Adelaide-based clubs.
'My understanding is that if Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera does leave St Kilda — and that's not certain, and Stephen Silvagni (Saints list manager) and Ben Williams (Wanganeen-Milera's manager) are speaking on almost a weekly basis — he won't be going to the Adelaide Football Club,' she said on The Agenda Setters.
'And one of the reasons he won't be going to the Adelaide Football Club is that he has concerns about an incident that happened back in 2021, an infamous incident that happened involving Taylor Walker and Robbie Young.
'Now, I'm making no comment about the club's handling of that incident, because my memory is that Matthew Nicks, the coach, was shattered by that incident, and the club did everything they could to get around Robbie Young.
'But Wanganeen-Milera has asked, clarified, that Matthew Nicks was the coach at the time, and has indicated that he doesn't want to go to the Adelaide Football Club.'
Walker has since completed training and education programs to help better himself in the wake of the incident, which threatened to derail his career at the time.
As it turned out, Walker bounced back from his disgrace to re-establish himself as a leader within the Adelaide and AFL communities, and has played some of the best footy of his career in recent years.
He was asked about the incident in a TV interview on Nine during Gather Round earlier this year, after which he was applauded for 'walking through hell', as host Eddie McGuire described it.
'I made a mistake, and one that I've got to live with for the rest of my life,' Walker said in April.
'But I suppose, when you make mistakes, you get a choice whether you look at it as: you can dwell on it, or you can learn about it.
'I'm very grateful for the support I had around me and I feel like I've learnt a lot, and I'm enjoying my football.'
Wilson said 'a lot of Wanganeen-Milera's friends' and members of 'the South Australian Indigenous community' remain irked that Walker, in that interview — though by no means through any fault of his own necessarily — was painted somewhat as a victim.
'I can't speak to the work that Taylor has done behind the scenes with Robbie Young and the South Australian and footy's Indigenous community, and he didn't set up those questions and that interview — but there was a view from Indigenous leaders across footy that it portrayed Taylor Walker as more of a victim than Robbie Young,' Wilson said.
'And it's just a small thing, but it wasn't a small thing to others who were still badly (hurt) by what happened back in 2021.
'So, for a variety of reasons, but specifically Wanganeen-Milera's issues with Taylor Walker and what happened back then, the view from Port Adelaide and from others in the footy community is that if he does leave, he will be going to Port Adelaide.'
Asked where she thinks Wanganeen-Milera will be playing next year, Wilson said she remains unsure.
'I'm really struggling to call it, I really am,' she said.
'I do know, that although St Kilda say they're confident, that he has some real issues with life in Melbourne and is very keen to return to home to Port.'
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"I've been absolutely rapt with the job that our assistant coaches have done, but I've been really reluctant to say that - because there's a scoreboard and people would say 'how can you say they've done a great job?' "Well, they have done a great job with the circumstances they've been working in." The same goes for culture, which from the outside has not looked great for a long time. "It's largely intangible. People really only measure it from wins and losses over time," Scott said. "I'm firm in the belief that we're taking good strides forward in that area, but you won't be able to see it until it's in the rearview mirror. "You want to have it happen tomorrow, but the reality is it takes some time." For Essendon and St Kilda, only time will tell. Beyond Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera lighting up Marvel Stadium again or Archie Roberts adding more weight to his Rising Star claims, Friday night's AFL clash is between two teams whose finals hopes ended weeks ago. 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