How St Kilda courted Rory Sloane through an Instagram burner

Rory Sloane has revealed that he was courted by St Kilda through social media in 2018.

Discussing West Coast captain Oscar Allen’s Hawthorn meeting, Sloane revealed that the Saints made contact with him discreetly on Instagram.

Sloane was asked by James Hird if he would have met with a rival club during his time as Adelaide skipper.

His answer surprised all.

“No, definitely not as captain,” Sloane said on Channel 9’s Footy Classified.

“I would have waited until later in the year. In 2018 I was a pivotal leader at our footy club and I spoke to St Kilda and we did it through a burner account on Instagram later in the season.

“I followed a burner account on Instagram and they did a full presentation of this is what you (can) expect from St Kilda. That’s how discreet I was, but that was way later in the season.

“I followed an account and they presented. No one could trace it.”

Sloane would become Adelaide co-captain alongside Taylor Walker in 2019 before taking the sole skipper role in 2020 until 2022.

The Victorian was also linked with Collingwood in 2018 but opted to remain in Adelaide to see out his career with the Crows which ended in 2024 after 255 games.