Sam Taylor (Australian footballer)

This article is about the Australian rules footballer. For the English footballer, see Sam Taylor (English footballer).

Sam Taylor
Personal information
Date of birth (1999-05-05) 5 May 1999 (age 25)
Original team(s) Swan Districts(WAFL)
Draft 28, 2017 national draft
Debut Round 11, 2018, Greater Western Sydney vs. Adelaide, at Adelaide Oval
Height 198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Weight 95 kg (209 lb)
Position(s) Key defender
Club information
Current club Greater Western Sydney
Number 15
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2018– Greater Western Sydney 111 (1)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Sam Taylor (born 5 May 1999) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a tall defender.[1] Taylor made his debut in round 11 of the 2018 season against the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval.[2]

Originally from Bullsbrook, Western Australia, Taylor's parents are Susan and Graham. He is the third of the family's seven children and was educated at Guildford Grammar School.[3] He played at colts level for Swan Districts in the West Australian Football League (WAFL) in 2016 and the first half of 2017 before transitioning to league level.[4] He is a graduate of the AFL Academy and played in the AFL Under 18 Championships for Western Australia, receiving All-Australian honours. He was drafted by the GWS Giants with pick 28 in the 2017 national draft.[5]

AFL career

Taylor made his debut in Round 11, 2018, against Adelaide. He played nearly a full season in 2019, including making an appearance in GWS's first-ever (albeit unsuccessful) AFL Grand Final.

In the COVID-affected 2020 season, after just four games for the year, Taylor was admitted to hospital with what was later diagnosed as septic arthritis in his pelvis and ankle. He was initially only expected to miss a month of football, but he ended up not playing for the rest of the season.[6][7][8]

Taylor played from the start of 2021, but he had a six-game break after Round 10 due to an ankle injury.[9][10]

Taylor played 22 out of 23 games in 2022, but a hamstring injury in 2023 saw him miss seven games.[11]

In Round 5, 2024, Taylor was knocked out cold, causing the game to be paused for about ten minutes until he was subbed out on a medicab. The Age’s Andrew Wu wrote: "Sam Taylor is as brave a player as they come. Broadcasters not showing a replay for good reason. Genuinely frightening stuff."[12] GWS's head of football, Jason McCartney, provided an update on Taylor following the quarter-time break: "He’s been taken to Canberra hospital for further assessment[,] but he was conscious and speaking as he got in the ambulance. Obviously it didn’t look great, but he’s a courageous kid and he’s in the very best hands and he’ll be fine."[13]

Statistics

Updated to the end of 2024.[14]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2018 Greater Western Sydney 15 8 0 0 32 39 71 16 24 0.0 0.0 4.0 4.9 8.9 2.0 3.0 0
2019 Greater Western Sydney 15 22 1 0 115 121 236 84 36 0.1 0.0 5.2 5.5 10.7 3.8 1.6 0
2020[a] Greater Western Sydney 15 4 0 1 10 22 32 11 10 0.0 0.3 2.5 5.5 8.0 2.8 2.5 0
2021 Greater Western Sydney 15 19 0 0 164 109 273 116 39 0.0 0.0 8.6 5.7 14.4 6.1 2.1 0
2022 Greater Western Sydney 15 22 0 0 190 145 335 132 59 0.0 0.0 8.6 6.6 15.2 6.0 2.7 1
2023 Greater Western Sydney 15 18 0 0 118 120 238 93 38 0.0 0.0 6.6 6.7 13.2 5.2 2.1 3
2024 Greater Western Sydney 15 18 0 0 105 113 218 85 34 0.0 0.0 5.8 6.3 12.1 4.7 1.9 2
Career 111 1 1 734 670 1404 537 241 0.0 0.0 6.6 6.0 12.6 4.8 2.2 6

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Sam Taylor". gwsgiants.com.au. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Adelaide Crows Vs GWS Giants - Match Centre". afl.com.au. 3 June 2018. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  3. ^ Lacy, Bridget (17 November 2017). "The country kid who will turn into a 'monster'". The West Australian. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Sam Taylor Settling Into AFL Life With GWS Giants". Swan Districts Football Club. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Pick 28: Sam Taylor". gwsgiants.com.au. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  6. ^ "How a Call of Duty session led to a young AFL star's stint in hospital". Fox Sports. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  7. ^ "AFL Tables - Sam Taylor - Stats - Statistics". afltables.com. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Horror infection left GWS defender immobile". The West Australian. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Medical room: The full AFL injury list, R11". afl.com.au. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Giants' injury woes worsen with key defender ruled out". afl.com.au. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Sam Taylor | AFL". gwsgiants.com.au. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  12. ^ "'Frightening' incident sends chills through AFL world". 7NEWS. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. ^ McKern, James (13 April 2024). "GWS Giants defender Sam Taylor knocked out cold in scary scenes".
  14. ^ "Sam Taylor". AFL Tables. Retrieved 30 April 2018.