"No one outside knows what's going on inside, but the fact is we have some great leaders. Nathan Van Berlo went last year from being captain to a coach, everyone's seen Danger's leadership on game day, Scotty Thompson is just a great leader and Daniel Talia is one of the most disciplined sportsmen I've ever seen. "But this year I don't think it's just going to be left to the leadership group. Everyone's at the same level and every player knows what's expected and I'm very happy about that. The standards we've set – kicking, tackling – everyone's on the same journey." The Crows' so-called heartbeat still feels the pain of missing finals again and is disappointed his club has managed only two September campaigns in his six years there. While Dangerfield put on the bulletin board a year ago that he would choose his future largely on the basis of Adelaide's direction and prospects, Sloane says he desperately wants to be part of true success with this group. Adelaide has not begun in-earnest contract talks with Dangerfield and the club's open view is that there will be serious concern come June if its franchise star has not responded to a yet-to-be-tabled offer. But Sloane has pushed for a long-term deal. Now on the eve of his seventh season and turning 25 next month the footballer from Upwey – should he re-sign as expected – will agree to a deal which will tie him to the Crows until at least the end of 2019.

"I'm not in a massive rush," said Sloane. "I like being honest with people and I've told Nobes (football boss David Noble) where I'm at. It can be a long process and footy's become a business." The club Sloane grew up adoring, StKilda, is one of several Adelaide believes has made a major play for its star. That, along with the fact that his parents are expected to be moving back to Victoria at the end of this year after several happy years in Glenelg due to an employment opportunity, has led to more speculation. And there's fiancee Belinda Riverso's new part-time role with Fox Sports which brings her to her home town of Melbourne once a week. After a dream holiday with Nathan Van Berlo and his wife Jess, which included an African safari and a week in Cape Town, Sloane waited until he was back on home turf in Adelaide to propose to Riverso six days before Christmas. Sloane laughs. "Everyone knows how I feel about Adelaide." On the heavy interest elsewhere he adds: "It definitely crosses your mind. It's the same as any business and you've got to be happy and that goes back to the players I play with." Later, when discussing his youthful love for the Saints, Sloane jokes that he would seriously consider signing with the club if it could guarantee his hero Robert Harvey would come out of retirement and play alongside him. Coach Phil Walsh told Fairfax Media he would not spend his first year in the job giving interviews about the futures of his two unsigned stars, but was aware of his role in the negotiations. "It's up to me to show them what we are capable of as a club," he said.

"I'm not going to say any more about that except that we are working as hard as we can to get those signatures." The early signs are that Sloane and his new coach will develop a frank and trusting relationship. Walsh was honest with Sloane regarding the reasons he appointed Taylor Walker as captain – an appointment that took most football observers by surprise and yet had been on the cards since November last year. "To his (Sloane's) credit, he didn't agree with some of my observations," said Walsh, "and he said: 'I'll show you what a good leader I can be.' "Tex, for me, was the obvious choice. I need leaders who impact games, change direction of games and Tex has that quality more than the others. I also need an element of 'follow me' and he's outstanding at it." Sloane, who is well known for his ability to demand commitment from his teammates, denied he had been disappointed in missing the Adelaide captaincy and said he was aware of some off-field behaviours he needed to improve on.

"I won't go into detail, but I think it's not so much game-day stuff," he said. "I think I could do more work mentoring our younger kids. But I'm really comfortable with Tex and I've said this to Tex – he's got the ability to stand up and influence games and you want your captain to stand up in games like that. You just have to go back to that (second semi) final against Fremantle (in 2012) to see how much influence he can have on a game." Sloane first became aware of Walsh's strengths when he delivered – without once referring to his notes – a stunning eulogy at Dean Bailey's funeral almost a year ago. They share surfing in common, but Sloane is not yet comfortable enough to initiate an outing with his coach. And then his new team saw another side of Walsh when a training accident left teammate Brent Reilly with a fractured skull and immediately hospitalised for emergency surgery. "It's hard to explain how amazed we all were by how he responded," said Sloane of his coach. "That really opened my eyes and taught me a lot about him." Having won the ear of the AFL Players' Association with his telling proposal that the game needed a loyalty scheme for one-club players, Sloane has also been touched by the true struggles of elite sport via his sister Shae. Eighteen months his junior and his Upwey football teammate until the under 14s, Shae is now a member of the Australian volleyball team whose funding was recently cut by the federal government because the sports commission view is that the men's team has better Olympic prospects come Rio.

"It's just crazy," he said. "Each team member has to pay $4000 to compete for Australia overseas. I think I'm going to have to become her sponsor."