Adelaide Crows' senior coach Don Pyke has defended co-captain Taylor Walker, after Walker spent the week in the media spotlight.
Walker has faced criticism from several sources, including Matthew Lloyd and Nick Riewoldt, after appearing to pull out of a contest with West Coast captain Shannon Hurn in Adelaide's 12-point loss last week.
Pyke defended the under-fire forward, saying the AFL industry is too quick to "pot" players after a poor performance.
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"As he said, he would probably like his time again - he would act differently," Pyke told reporters at Adelaide Airport on Friday.
"But we have got to be really careful in this industry. We want to pot a guy on an incident.
"He has been an outstanding player for us; he is a wonderful leader of our footy club.
"He didn't have his best day last week.
"But before that, the game against Brisbane, he was one of the dominant forwards, if not the most dominant forward on the ground - six shots on goal and five contested marks."
Walker was held goalless and had just 12 disposals against the Eagles.
Taylor Walker looks like he’s seeing Ghosts on field #AFLCrowsEagles #AFL pic.twitter.com/BQnX3z8uJG
— The Council Sports (@TheCouncilSport) May 25, 2019
However, Pyke said that Walker was keen to bounce back this weekend, as they take on Melbourne on Saturday night in Darwin.
Walker has kicked 20 goals in 10 games against the Demons across his career.
"(He) had it tough earlier in the week but is looking forward," Pyke said.
"This industry, we are dealing with people and people have a range of emotions ... so talking to him about that is natural.
"We move on and get ready for the next game. That's the thing, the game doesn't really wait.
"He gets another crack on Saturday night to lead the footy club."
Adelaide are currently 7th on the ladder, with a 5-5 record.