Adelaide captain Taylor Walker admits he knew something was wrong after the Crows' infamous 2018 pre-season camp, but says he did what he could to fix things.
Adelaide key forward Taylor Walker insists he enjoyed the Crows' notorious 2018 camp, despite a string of players revealing harrowing experiences from the Gold Coast training trip.
But Walker, who was captain at the time, admits it was difficult to hear former teammates including Eddie Betts and Josh Jenkins share they were still feeling negative effects from the experience.
Some of the revelations from the past players include Indigenous culture being disrespected, confidential information being shared to others and those with traumatic childhood experiences being prayed upon.
Walker, who in 2018 described the camp as "one of the most beneficial and rewarding camps I've ever been" and said he'd encourage family members to take part in it, admitted it wasn't easy to hear others hadn't enjoyed it.
"As the captain at the time of the footy club and those boys being past players, (it's) not great," he told Triple M.
"It's quite upsetting to hear those guys are still feeling the effects of the camp.
"What I will say is the camp, a lot of people took different things out of it and I personally I've said I took a positive experience out of it, but that does not take away from the the feelings of hurt that those boys are going through at the moment."
Asked if he felt he had done what he could at the time to support his players, Walker said he had.
"I can put my head on the pillow at night and put my hand on my heart and say I did everything I could," he said.
"I knew something was not right post the camp, I knew blokes weren't feeling that great about it.
"There were fractures within the group, like some of the boys have said and I was having one-on-one meetings.
"I was having some confidential meetings at my house to try and work out exactly the path to take and I can honestly say that I did everything I could to try and fix it."
Former Adelaide star Patrick Dangerfield, who moved to Geelong ahead of the 2016 season, said he was proud of Jenkins for speaking out about the camp.
Jenkins retired last year after finishing off his AFL career at Geelong and now has a coaching role with the Cats.
"It took a lot out of him to speak through and it's been a long time coming for Josh to feel comfortable around it," Dangerfield told SEN on Tuesday.
"It wasn't until Josh got to Adelaide ... that I really felt like he found a place where he truly belonged, that loved and respected him and that he felt like was home to him.
"I think the real challenges were in the aftermath of the camp, feeling like this is wrong, but not being comfortable to speak out because of how much he loves the place."
The AFL Players Association president, Dangerfield admits mistakes were made by those running, and then investigating, the camp.
"We needed to push harder, understanding there were challenges around, but it doesn't excuse, we have to be better in that respect," Dangerfield said.
"Words really mean little until it's really actioned and you really live by those actions, that's the challenge for everyone involved."
In a statement from chief executive Paul Marsh last week, the AFLPA said it was left shocked by Betts' revelations and have decided to reopen an investigation.
