Swans Product Taylor Shining On Giants Stage

SWAN Districts' league side might currently be struggling on a current five-game losing streak but the fruits of the strong development program continues to shine with Sam Taylor named as this week's AFL Rising Star.

This time last year Taylor was coming out of his West Australian State 18s campaign and resuming playing colts football in the WAFL with Swan Districts.

But he finished the season in 2017 impressively at Swan Districts and he begin his senior football career on the back of a starring performance in the colts in Round 16 against East Fremantle with 19 possessions, 10 tackles, eight marks and eight hit outs.

The next week he played in the reserves against South Fremantle and then the following round he came into the Swan Districts league side and has never looked back.

His first two league appearances were against eventual Grand Finalists Peel Thunder and Subiaco, and he kept improvement the more he played the better he became at the level against men.

Taylor was superb in the Round 23 loss to East Fremantle with 27 possessions and eight marks before delivering a standout showing in the elimination final win over West Perth in front of a big crowd at Steel Blue Oval where he shut down Falcons' key forward Tyler Keitel.

He had shot himself right up in AFL Draft calculations from the way he performed right throughout the 2017 season and went on to be picked up by the Greater Western Sydney Giants at pick No. 28 in the AFL Draft.

And ever since, he has settled in well at the Giants and it’s the small things that have helped him grow further since he made his start in the Giants' AFL side six weeks ago.

A high five or a quick little thumbs up from Phil Davis. A pass across the back-line from Nick Haynes, who he knows trusts him to take the mark.

An invitation from Heath Shaw to join in on some extra kicking sessions and a gentle reminder from all of the above to do one thing, and not get in their way.

"That was the hardest thing at first, just knowing where to run and which areas players like to take. I’ve got into trouble a few times, getting into people’s way and running into the wrong position," Taylor said.

"But everyone looks after me and everyone’s been so good. I know where to run now and when I do the right thing everyone gets around me and tells me and gives me the thumbs up. They help me out and now I’m more comfortable. I’m starting to find my feet."

Taylor has done it against some good players, experiencing an array of shapes, sizes and types in his first six opponents, starting out in a week he expected to spend playing one more game with the NEAFL team.

"The boys got a good laugh out of my reaction when Leon (Cameron) said I was in because I was so shocked," he said.

“It was a massive surprise. I thought it would be one or more two weeks so I couldn’t believe when he said it.”

Since debuting against a fellow draftee in Adelaide’s Darcy Fogarty, Taylor has spent time on Hawthorn’s Luke Breust, Brisbane’s Eric Hipwood, West Coast’s Jeremy McGovern and Gold Coast’s Sam Day.

He played against Josh Caddy when the Giants beat Richmond last Saturday night, a performance that has earned him even more appreciation from his teammates, as well as the Round 17 AFL Rising Star nomination.

All his opponents have taught him things, and brought out new things in his game.

They’ve made him drawn on the flexibility he wants to add to the Giants team every week, and the competitive nature that developed over many years of battling his five brothers at all sorts of sports in the backyard of their property an hour out of Perth.

His parents, brothers and little sister were on holiday in northern WA when the Giants beat the Tigers, and drove for more than an hour and a half to find a small town, a pub, a television and a way to see their third son play.

"Growing up with my brothers, that’s definitely where I got my competitiveness from," Taylor said.

“There was no choice about it, in the backyard battles we used to have."

Taylor was daunted when he first got to Sydney after last November’s draft, looking around at teammates he was used to watching from a long way away on TV.

"A year ago I was picking them for my Dream Team," he said.

"And now I’m handpassing them the ball. It was very daunting at first. I felt so nervous."

The first competitive match play sessions in pre-season settled him – "I started to think, ‘I can do this, I can become a footballer" – and now that he has made his way into the side Taylor would very much like to stay there and keep learning more.

"I’ve loved it. I’ve loved every second playing so far and I just want to keep going out there and playing good football," he said.

“I’ve always dreamed about it and it definitely meets the dream. It’s the best feeling, running out onto the field, playing with your mates and just enjoying a win together.

"I really enjoy winning and I’m trying not to get too fazed. I just want to stay calm and go out there and do my thing."