Two-time Adelaide premiership coach Malcolm Blight says Taylor Walker was poorly managed throughout the year.
Walker missed the majority of the Crows’ pre-season with a foot injury that forced him to miss the club’s season opener against Essendon.
The forward was seemingly rushed back into the fray by coach Don Pyke, and Walker's performances suffered as a result.
“What actually happened was he had an injury at the start of the season and missed four or six weeks of pre-season," Blight told SEN's Whateley.
“We all know that’s a doomed thing now.
“They pulled him out of games, this was after a few rounds, and then said: ‘we’re going to get a pre-season into him’.
“So we’re going to train him for three-four weeks and he's not going to play.
“They lost a couple of games didn’t they? So guess who appeared in the next game? Taylor Walker.
“The panic came. I could read the tea leaves, if you’re going to say that and you need an extra pre-season, for goodness sake, make sure the players are given a fair chance by having a pre-season.
“Taylor Walker at 85 percent is not a good player. Anyone who tells me you can play at 85 percent, you’ve got rocks in your head.”
The 28-year-old’s season came to an abrupt end last week after he was suspended for two weeks for a sling tackle on GWS star Josh Kelly.
Listen to Malcolm Blight’s chat on SEN’s Whateley with Gerard Whateley in the player below