Past Elijah Taylor - delisted 2020

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Mod Note:

I've removed a large number of posts from the last day or so that is mainly speculation without any factual basis and broader discussion on the issue of DV.

I want to bring this thread back on track and reiterate the scope of the discussion to be:
*new developments in the Taylor case as more facts get reported
*ramifications of such facts on Taylor's future at the club and the Swans
*subsequent actions the Swans should take

If you want to talk about the sociology around the issue of DV more generally there's sure to be many appropriate threads on the Society, Religion, Politics board.

There's no reason for oppo posters to be weighing in here, there's a thread on the main board about the exact same topic.

From here on posts that are simply speculating without any factual backing are going in the bin. This includes:
*any posts speculating on the outcome of Taylor's guilt/innocence - he's presumed innocent until found guilty, we know as it stands there are serious allegations of DV against him, there's going to be a hearing on September 30. Without further fact and information, no one's in a position to make a more enlightened view.
*any posts theorising the girl 'attention-seeking' or making false claim for some other reason - without any supporting facts it's completely unfair to be making that sort of character assessment. A DV allegation is a serious claim and there's no business in dismissing it until the facts arise to counter it.
 
Yeah absolutely not interactions between football and race. Just ask Adam Goodes. He'll set you straight "my race never affected my football career" he will say.
Can we stop talking about race and talk, this is a football forum, those talking crap about race just looking for an argument, everyone is sick of this BS. STFU.

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FFS is it too much to expect that race is not a factor in our reception of this kid?

He’s a talented forward who might make it, or might not. End of.

Either be excited, or keep the doubts limited to his ability like we would every other draftee.

I agree, but Bigfooty is rife with that kind of mentality though, (on both the positive and negative side)

I mean, we see so many 'best indigenous players' lists on here, that it blows my mind. Why segregate at all?

Bug bear of mine.
 
I know it’s a bit cliched but I love that type of footage. Just a massive outpouring of elation and relief. Kid realising a lifelong dream and a family massively proud of what he’s achieved. Great to see.
Yeah agree.
Not sure a greater appreciation of those touching moments offsets the frustrations of a bung hip, the less-than-20/20 vision and the ever-deteriorating hearing that come with “maturing”, but there ain’t no turning back lol
 

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Elijah Taylor (Perth Demons)
185cm, 75kg [I have seen him listed as 185cm on the Swans site and 188cm on the AFL site. I've never walked up to him with a tape measure but to me he looks pretty much the same height as Robertsen who is listed at 182-184 so I've used the lower number]

Taylor played less than a third of the WAFL Colts season this year around u18 State commitments. He comes from the same club as Deven Robertsen who was also taken in this year's draft. Robertsen only played 2 games, I was able to watch both players together in the Demons' win against Claremont which was the best game of the year for both. For the non-WA folk, Claremont are a pretty much constant powerhouse and Perth are generally pretty s**t, but the Demons really turned it on that day assisted by some poor goalkicking from Claremont. I have watched other games from Taylor but felt this one was worth mentioning because of 1) the amount of talk about Robertsen on our board; 2) his club actually won a game, which was pretty rare this year. Perth only won 5 Colts games in 2019, and 4/5 of them were 4/5 of the games Taylor played this year, so he has benefited from that in his stats and so on.

Elijah is a genuinely dual-sided player who can accurately kick 40m+ on his non preferred foot (left). The difference between his left and right foot is that his preferred right has more penetration and passes are delivered flatter and faster. His left can be higher trajectory and a bit loopier but I have seen him execute high difficulty passes on his left several times. He will take a shot at goal at any opportunity with either foot and is highly competent on both sides. His handpassing skills are fine and generally don't stand out. But he is very good and executes fast handpasses in close, which I see as an area of relative strength.

One of Elijah's real areas of elite separation is his hands particularly at ground level. He can pick up the ball one-handed at serious pace and can execute bounces at full speed without breaking stride. Another elite attribute is his agility, which he combines with a strong bag of tricks. Taylor will utilise anything he can (except hard running) to create space and separation from opponents and is always focused on moving the ball towards goal. He will fake, baulk, use blind turns, and is very hard to tackle when given space and a clear run towards a defender. He has a very tight turning circle and has an excellent sidestep.

His marking is a relative strength. He is not as good a mark in pack situations as the elite mid-sized forwards like Membrey, Heeney, and other similar-height players like Petracca and Parker. However he has the ability to pop up for strong grabs when he has a clean run at the ball and/or a bit of separation from a key defender who would outmatch him in a fair contest 9 times out of 10. Will Hoskin-Elliott is a more realistic comparison here who is same-sized, wiry, hits the contest at pace and uses good vertical leap to take impressive marks but isn't going to consistently beat real defenders like Membrey or Heeney would be expected to. Taylor is also a player who can smartly use his body against an opponent to create space to attack the ball on the ground, where he backs himself to be faster and cleaner than the defender.

Taylor has decent tackle numbers due to his speed and this suggests an unrealistically positive view of his (really bad) defensive workrate and pressure. Taylor does not work hard enough defensively, I do not know if this is due to a lack of conditioning or a lack of will. I have seen Taylor repeatedly walk or light jog out of defensive 50 when the opposition is counter-attacking. He does not demonstrate enough urgency to press up the ground and take an opponent. I have also seen him give up on chases when he doesn't quickly see dividends. The Swans, to their credit, have called this defensive workrate out pretty bluntly in the post-draft review and they are obviously aware of it and plan to work on it.

As I said back in October I see Taylor best used as a high half-forward prospect who has smart delivery inside 50 but is mostly there to impact the scoreboard. In order to achieve this he will need to significantly increase his conditioning and workrate because at AFL level he would currently be a massive liability when the opposition wins the ball and rebounds from inside the arc. Taylor has elite attacking attributes particularly his agility, goalkicking, and clean hands. I give him a peak upside comparison of Jaidyn Stephenson as an extremely skillful and dangerous attacking player who has the tools and tricks to offset his slim frame. I really struggled to come up with a downside comparison so I may edit one in later.
 
Dont really want to keep this line of discussion up - but - after the Eagles, the Swans probably have the best history of indigenous players in the AFL.

Three of the top 10 of all time.

Off the top of my head:

  1. Polly Farmer
  2. L Franklin
  3. A Goodes
  4. A McLeod
  5. S Jackson
  6. S Burgoyne
  7. M Rioli
  8. P Matera
  9. C Lewis
  10. N Winmar
  11. M O'Loughlin
  12. J Farmer
  13. D Wirrapanda
 
Re Buddy picking up Elijah from the airport. I read somewhere they are blood related and thought "we would be crazy not to draft Elijah." Hence, I cannot conceive of Buddy not picking him up.
 
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He has the right people around him, buddy, o'loughlin & others, plus a club well adversed in player (and family) welfare - the rest is up to him - if he wants it, works it, than he has fantastic base to build from;
If not, than he will return back to a family, who Will happily welcome him back.
Good luck Eli, May the force be with you!
 
Mi
Dont really want to keep this line of discussion up - but - after the Eagles, the Swans probably have the best history of indigenous players in the AFL.

Three of the top 10 of all time.

Off the top of my head:

  1. Polly Farmer
  2. L Franklin
  3. A Goodes
  4. A McLeod
  5. S Jackson
  6. S Burgoyne
  7. M Rioli
  8. P Matera
  9. C Lewis
  10. N Winmar
  11. M O'Loughlin
  12. J Farmer
  13. D Wirrapanda
M Long
B Cable
 
Yes. Believe the club gives each player at the club a set number of visits per year for their families that they will pay for and of course the player/family can pay for more on top of that if they want.
Do the clubs pay for that and is it included in the soft cap? The non-Victorian clubs and especially the northern clubs, would need to do this more often.
 
Do the clubs pay for that and is it included in the soft cap? The non-Victorian clubs and especially the northern clubs, would need to do this more often.

The CBA makes reference to "the return economy flights allocated to parent/family travel in section 19.2 of the TPP Administration Manual" and while i can't find that document itself online, it strongly suggests family travel is included as part of Total Player Payments for players and thus not in the soft cap.
 
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