RORY Sloane intends to be fit and ready to lead Adelaide for a fifth AFL season when they kick off their 2023 campaign against Greater Western Sydney.
Sloane, who will turn 33 two days before his side's season opener at Giants Stadium on March 19, is on track to resume his 233-game career after he underwent a knee reconstruction following Adelaide's win over Richmond last April.
"I've really started to ramp things up over the past month ... the goal has always been to get super fit and be ready for round one and that is achievable," Sloane told AFL.com.au.
"The way things are tracking, that's my goal.
"My rehab has gone pretty smoothly ... you always have tiny setbacks that might take a day or two to recover from, but I'm feeling really good.
"I'm in a really good space."
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Sloane, who shared the captaincy with Taylor Walker in 2019 before taking sole responsibility for leading the side in 2020, is set to remain in the role when the Crows' leadership group is confirmed early next year.
"As it stands (I'll be captain)," he said. "But I've said all along that it's about what's best for the footy club."
"I have regular chats with Nicksy (coach Matthew Nicks) and whatever is best for the footy club going forward I will most certainly do.
"(Not being captain) would never change what I do as a leader.
"I've always been a massive believer that you don't need a title to lead.
"Whatever my role is I'll continue to help lead this footy club.
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"But I would love nothing more than to lead these boys and to play some solid footy again."
Sloane had started to transition out of a full-time midfield role last season before his campaign ended when his right knee buckled under him against the Tigers at Adelaide Oval.
Despite the setback, he is confident he can still make a valuable contribution playing a variety of roles up forward, on the ball and on the wing.
After a five-year absence from finals, Sloane is bullish about Adelaide's ability to push into the top eight in 2023 given the quality of young talent the clubs has brought in through the draft and via the trade period.
"We've added a couple of key recruits in Jordan Dawson (last year) and Izak Rankine, we get myself and maybe Paul Seedsman back and all of a sudden we've got a bit more experience around some of these younger guys and it becomes really exciting," he said.
"Every team is thinking the same thing (about contesting finals) at this time of the year. You want to have those goals and that's the standard that you want to try to drive towards.
"That is definitely a standard that we want to push for.
"I'm always big on finding positives in average situations.
"Me getting injured has fast-tracked Sam Berry's game, Jake Soligo played some midfield time in his first season, and there's a whole range of kids we've got a stack of games into.
"I think that's exciting for our fans."
