Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera’s manager has quickly moved to deny shock allegations that the star Saint is reluctant to seek a trade to Adelaide due to Taylor Walker’s infamous racism incident.

Walker was suspended for six matches in late 2021 after being found to have racially abused an Indigenous SANFL player while speaking to Crows reserves players.

The Crows, along with Port Adelaide, are keenly pursuing the signature of South Australian-born Wanganeen-Milera, who is in All-Australian contention in 2025 but is yet to sign on at the Saints for 2026, with speculation rife he will seek a move home at season’s end.

The 22-year old has been closely linked with the Power, having been photographed with Port Indigenous players Jason Horne-Francis and Jase Burgoyne during a trip to Adelaide during the Saints’ mid-season bye – the trio became friends while playing junior footy in South Australia.

However, veteran journalist Caroline Wilson reported on Seven’s The Agenda Setters that Wanganeen-Milera is against a move to the Crows, with Walker’s racism incident cited as a reason – and isn’t officially out the door at the Saints, either.

“One of the reasons he won’t be going to the Adelaide Football Club is that he has concerns about an incident that happened back in 2021, a famous incident involving Taylor Walker and [SANFL player] Robbie Young,” Wilson said.

“Wanganeen-Milera has asked, clarified, that Matthew Nicks was the coach at the time, and has indicated that he doesn’t want to go to the Adelaide Football Club.

“For a variety of reasons, but specifically Wanganeen-Milera’s issues with Taylor Walker and what happened back then, the view from Port Adelaide and from others in the footy community is that if he does leave, he’ll be going to Port Adelaide.”

According to Wilson, a Channel 9 interview of Walker by Eddie McGuire in the lead-up to Gather Round this year has reignited concerns from ‘Indigenous leaders across footy’ over the four-year-old incident.

“I can’t speak to the work that Taylor has done behind the scenes with Robbie Young and the South Australian Indigenous community … but there was a few from Indigenous leaders across footy that it portrayed Taylor Walker as more of a victim than Robbie Young,” she said.

“It’s just a small thing, but it wasn’t a small thing to others who are still badly injured by what happened back in 2021.”

However, barely an hour after Wilson’s report was posted to Seven’s social media accounts, Wanganeen-Milera’s manager Ben Williams refuted the claims via Nine News Adelaide reporter Corey Norris.

“Reports made in the media suggesting that Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has ruled out joining the Adelaide Crows due to comments made by Taylor Walker in 2021 are false,” Norris wrote on X in a quote attributed to Williams.

“Nasiah is currently considering his future and at this stage, no decisions have been made, and any speculation suggesting otherwise is inaccurate.”

Mitchito Owens with Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

‘We’re just both competitors’: Gawn lifts lid on post-match May spray

Melbourne captain Max Gawn has opened up on his heated post-match confrontation with teammate Steven May following the Demons’ King’s Birthday loss to Collingwood.

With under a minute remaining and the Dees trailing by a point, Gawn marked in defensive 50, but horribly shanked an attempted kick into the corridor to try and set-up a game-winning goal, with Magpie Will Hoskin-Elliott taking the game-sealing mark.

Shortly after the final siren sounded, May approached Gawn while he was being consoled by teammate Daniel Turner, giving his captain a fierce spray, which Gawn responded to with a look of incredulity and a shove to the chest.

The incident quickly proved divisive around the footy world, especially when Channel Seven vision revealed a second spray from May just moments after the first.

“Steven May’s a leader of the club, we know Max Gawn’s a brilliant skipper,” Fox Footy commentator Jason Dunstall said of the exchange post-match.

“They’ll have a chat about it … just let emotions cool down a little bit.”

Speaking to Seven after the match, Gawn put the incident down to the pair both being ‘competitors’, while confirming they will address the matter face-to-face in coming days.

“Unfortunately, with 30 seconds to go, I put the ball in Hoskin-Elliott’s lap, and I’m pretty sure all 17 of my teammates were pretty angry with that decision,” he said.

“I felt like we had a chance to potentially win the game still with 30 seconds to go, as did a few other people, and that sort of iced it.”

Gawn followed up by questioning the umpire’s decision to force him to play on, that led to the shank in the first place.

“I wasn’t over the moon that I got called to play on in the first place. I actually didn’t play on, and then a ruckman’s got the ball in the back pocket and he’s been called to play on and he’s under pressure, there’s not much I can do, to be honest,” he said.

“I could have swung on me left, and that probably would have been worse. I thought maybe a chaos ball would have been the best option, but me trying to kick a chaos ball ends up straight in Hoskin-Elliott’s lap.”

The narrow loss leaves the Demons 14th on the AFL ladder with a 5-8 record, while the Magpies are six points clear atop the table.