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#13 - Taylor Walker

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In little over 12 months...
 
Before

10668.jpg


After

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In little over 12 months...

This may seem like a dumb question but in the bottom picture which one is Taylor Walker?

Im actually looking forward to him doing really well in the AFL because the more NSW players in the competition the better. I only wish the Swans signed him instead of you guys.
 

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This may seem like a dumb question but in the bottom picture which one is Taylor Walker?

Im actually looking forward to him doing really well in the AFL because the more NSW players in the competition the better. I only wish the Swans signed him instead of you guys.

The more upright one, unless I'm very much mistaken.
 
Article from the adelaidenow website about Tex. Man I love this guy!! I can't remember such a build up and hype surrounding a kid who hasn't even made his debut yet.

Source: http://http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/sport/afl/story/0,26547,24885660-5014664,00.html

Taylor Walker on the right path with Adelaide Crows
ZAC MILBANK | January 08, 2009 12:30am

HE'S yet to make his AFL debut but Taylor Walker has Crows officials gushing.
And it's not just because of his stunning match-winning performance for Norwood in last year's SANFL elimination final.

This time the superstar-in-the-making made such an impression at the club's pre-Christmas "Crushers Camp", those in the know at West Lakes are still raving about the 18-year-old.

"I thought he was exceptional," a club source revealed.

"He showed great care, awareness of the team and for whoever needed help.

"He provided good voice and was very encouraging to team-mates who weren't going particularly well."

Adelaide's first product from the AFL's NSW scholarship scheme, the boy from Broken Hill has been quick to develop a reputation as a laconic character.

Walker, otherwise known as "Tex", was quick to reveal one of his hobbies was sleeping upon his arrival at the Crows Nest. But he did anything but on the three-day sojourn to the Riverland, displaying an impressive level of intensity among his inexperienced squad members.

"You just assume he's a laid-back character from Broken Hill but he shone in areas we hadn't seen before," the source said.

The unearthing of Walker's leadership skills came as 18 of Adelaide's first and second-year players were physically and mentally tested while the rest of the squad was on leave.

Knowing their senior team-mates were already enjoying their Christmas break, the Crows youngsters were forced to undergo a series of exercises to strict time constraints.

Without the presence of leadership group members Simon Goodwin, Brett Burton, Michael Doughty, Ben Rutten, Nathan van Berlo, Scott Stevens and Tyson Edwards, someone was forced to stand up in the face of adversity.

And Walker didn't disappoint.

"It gives them the opportunity to show leadership which is normally a difficult thing to do when you've got blokes like Goodwin and Burton around," the source said.

Most of the activities involved kayaking to certain destinations - where their tents could be found.

But as the youngsters soon realised, accommodation wasn't always in the prescribed location.

"Not everything runs perfectly for you," the source said.

"It was about still being able to perform when things aren't perfect. It relates to game-day performance."

Hopefully for Crows fans, Walker's outstanding performance is a sign of things to come.
 
I was just wondering, was his nickname always Tex? It may well have been, but I also thought someone independently came up with that on BigFooty in 2007.
 

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Yeah, that's the thing. I know that Tex comes from Texas Ranger. I'm just saying, I reckon there's a chance that it first came up on this board.

I remember someone reading his Myspace page and there was a photoshop on there that CC had done of a sherrif's badge calling him Tex.
 
Yeah, that's the thing. I know that Tex comes from Texas Ranger. I'm just saying, I reckon there's a chance that it first came up on this board.

I remember someone reading his Myspace page and there was a photoshop on there that CC had done of a sherrif's badge calling him Tex.
lol. and my bryce who photoshop.

maybe tex could employ me as his personal photoshopper...
 
Great find!

He obviously has an excellent frame for gaining weight, and has worked incredibly hard over the break.

Makes me even more excited coming into 2009 :D
 
Great find!

He obviously has an excellent frame for gaining weight, and has worked incredibly hard over the break.

Makes me even more excited coming into 2009 :D

Yeah, now that Craig has told us that we need to be patient on Dangerfield, Walker is THE one to watch for us Crows fans this year. How exciting is it going to be watching him in the NAB Cup (or even the Indigeneous All-Stars match if we can figure out a way to get it) and then throughout the season, where he should play some matches at least? I can't wait :)
 

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Here's the article:


Taylor made for Crows attack

ADELAIDE'S forever-evolving forward structure is set for yet another makeover. And the man whose name should be on the lips of all Crows fans - Taylor Walker - can expect to be a major pawn on coach Neil Craig's chess board in next month's NAB Cup.

Recognising the need to again reshuffle his attack this year, Craig is eager to start putting his plans to the test in the club's February 7 trial match against the Indigenous All-Stars in Darwin.

"There will be some changes up there (forward line) this year," Craig said in addressing the club's need to score more heavily in 2009.

"Young Taylor Walker has been exceptional on the track and he's ready to have a go, whereas last year I didn't feel he was quite ready. Nick Gill's been able to stay on the track at the moment and we know what (Jason) Porplyzia can do up there.

"James Sellar, I couldn't have asked him to do any more than he's doing at the moment and Kurt Tippett, we've got big hopes for him as well."

Central to any increase in Adelaide's potency will be an improvement in the method of delivery entering the Crows' attacking 50m arc. Much of this tinkering has been completed behind locked gates at the club's weekly closed training sessions at The Parade.

"Unless you're a Wayne Carey or a (Matthew) Pavlich to a lesser extent, at an early age, they're (forwards) going to need the ball coming in with some system," Craig said.

And, unlike late last year, when Craig chose not to blood teenage sensation Walker despite deafening calls to do so, the Crows mentor will unleash the boy from Broken Hill next month.

"I didn't believe he (Walker) was ready," Craig said on Radio 5AA. "I was hearing what people were saying, there were a couple of people quite strong with me about Taylor getting a game. And when I asked them how many games they'd seen Taylor play, the answer was none, it was what they heard.

"It was more about the environment we were putting Taylor into, which I think he wasn't quite ready for. Clearly he showed to me in the SANFL finals with some of the adjustments he'd made and what he's done in pre-season this year, he's put his hand up and he'll get an opportunity."

Internal competition for spots - with long-term knee victim Trent Hentschel also returning - is sure to be fierce. This has certainly not been lost on Gill, who is desperate to make his mark this summer.

"If you can get the pressure on early and string a few good games together in the NAB Cup there's going to be opportunity there for whoever wants to take it," Gill said. "It's pretty exciting times, actually. We've got a lot of young guys we've drafted who are tall and exciting and we've got a couple of guys who have been on the list for a few years who are coming good.

"Then there's guys like Rowdy (Hentschel), who I'd love to see back out there - he's such a smart and skilful player, so it's a dream of mine to be able to play alongside him.

"Taylor Walker, seeing him kicking seven (goals) in the (SANFL) elimination (final), it shows we have a bright future, even through there aren't any set positions yet."

So what can the AFL world expect to see from Adelaide's "work-in-progress" attack this year?

"We don't really put limits on ourselves - we want to be good from the get go," Gill said. "So we bring that into our training and get people ready for round one."
 

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