Player Watch Taylor Smith - Welcome to Sydney

[SwansProudly]

Smith is a proven performer at the top level, having won two Premierships with the Lions (‘21,’23) and won the AFLW goal-kicking award in 2024 as well as being selected in the All-Australian team in the same season.

Since her debut 2020, Smith has played 77 AFLW games in total and kicked 67 goals. She booted 18 goals this season to help the Lions into another Grand Final.

Smith lands with the Sydney Swans

We welcome two-time Premiership forward Taylor Smith to the club in a three-club trade completed with the Brisbane Lions and Hawthorn.

www.sydneyswans.com.au

 

[Callipygian]

 

[joeykanga]

 

[joeykanga]

 

[RnR from RWO]

We've made several attempts to form a forward line. Priv was a great 2nd or 3rd marking target - but not a key forward. Smith teased then left, Giselle turned out to be even less effective than Lexi. And last years - all shrimp forward line was not a success.
So we've now gone big ticket - we needed to do something - let's hope it works out.

 

[Callipygian]

Hopefully Martin can keep developing and Neyland can come in (and maybe Parsons) and they can all develop fast. But, realistically, it's going to take them a little while to really be formidable even if they all turn out to be gun players. Our forwards, and tall forwards in particular, are going to be a weak link for a little while (Taylor Smith excepted).

 

[RnR from RWO]

Hopefully Martin can keep developing and Neyland can come in (and maybe Parsons) and they can all develop fast. But, realistically, it's going to take them a little while to really be formidable even if they all turn out to be gun players. Our forwards, and tall forwards in particular, are going to be a weak link for a little while (Taylor Smith excepted).

A single genuinely affective tall should make a huge difference and I think the forwards will come good more quickly than some expect. Holly is usually very accurate (the Ess debacle excepted) and is an excellent goal sneak and Grunden definitely looks the goods. So I can see both of them improving. Cynthia is brilliant, but she just needs to be more involved in matters - and I too liked Amelia Martin's career start, it will be interesting to see whether she or Paris will cement a place.

 

[joeykanga]

A single genuinely affective tall should make a huge difference and I think the forwards will come good more quickly than some expect. Holly is usually very accurate (the Ess debacle excepted) and is an excellent goal sneak and Grunden definitely looks the goods. So I can see both of them improving. Cynthia is brilliant, but she just needs to be more involved in matters - and I too liked Amelia Martin's career start, it will be interesting to see whether she or Paris will cement a place.

I agree. I also think.Grunden looked the goods. She's also a tough player...she always takes some form of punishment. I feel like she'll develop a litlle more nous to add to her impressive year. Im hoping Cynthia goes through the midfield a little more. Id prefer Amelia by a long way over Paris. Apart from a match a few years ago where she kicked a few i havent seen what the club see in her. I actually thought Ruby was better than Paris this year.
i can even see cameos in the midfield for Holly and Amelia at times.

 

[RnR from RWO]

I agree. I also think.Grunden looked the goods. She's also a tough player...she always takes some form of punishment. I feel like she'll develop a litlle more nous to add to her impressive year. Im hoping Cynthia goes through the midfield a little more. Id prefer Amelia by a long way over Paris. Apart from a match a few years ago where she kicked a few i havent seen what the club see in her. I actually thought Ruby was better than Paris this year.
i can even see cameos in the midfield for Holly and Amelia at times.

Cynthia through the midfield could help her ger more involved. I sometimes think she can get involved in dishing out the physicality - I hope the presence of an actual key forward (plus her sister) will let her put more focus on becoming Queanbeyan's answer to Chloe Molloy.

FWIW I don't really get our Irish experiment as a whole. What do Julie or Paris bring to the club that warranted travelling to the other side of the globe? They aren't exactly Aine McDonagh or Eilish O'Dowd are they - so what made them stand out? In any case I'm expecting locals like Lara/Amelia to supplant them.

 

[joeykanga]

Cynthia through the midfield could help her ger more involved. I sometimes think she can get involved in dishing out the physicality - I hope the presence of an actual key forward (plus her sister) will let her put more focus on becoming Queanbeyan's answer to Chloe Molloy.

FWIW I don't really get our Irish experiment as a whole. What do Julie or Paris bring to the club that warranted travelling to the other side of the globe? They aren't exactly Aine McDonagh or Eilish O'Dowd are they - so what made them stand out? In any case I'm expecting locals like Lara/Amelia to supplant them.

It's something that Scott did more the previous season. I dont know what happened this year even with Sofia out for major parts, we hardly used Chloe and Cynthia through the mids . At times they were both unused pieces in the forward line especially in those vital games we were losing in the last part of the season. That coincided a little with Sofia not playing and thus delivery into forward 50 falling away and also with Chloe's back niggles perhaps.
I love your Cynthia homegrown version of Chloe comparison. Can you imagine Cynthia's physicality and selling candy passes as she strides powerfully out of midfield to deliver with that booming boot to her sister, Chloe, Amelia , Taylor , Holly and even Sarah. Shes training for that. I seemed to remember her playing there more in previous seasons. Holly and Amelia have the same physicality and sweet skills to do midfield time also. I could even see Sarah doing a little midfield time. Conversely I thought Tanya became an offensive weapon this year and looked dangerous in passages of play in the forward line contests.
We got her from park footy in Sydney but the other 2?perhaps Julie offers a solid part in defence. But i do think we're not getting that point of difference from our other Irish import Paris. If we had an Irish import like some clubs have snagged we would have our quality tall for nothing spent in draft capital. That avenue seems to be a wasted opportunity.

 

[RnR from RWO]

I think Chloe and Cynthia's permanent presence in the forward line may have been due to the complete absence of any key forwards. In that ansence Scott decided to utilise an oompah-loompah forward line - and it didn't work.

 

[Callipygian]

FWIW I don't really get our Irish experiment as a whole. What do Julie or Paris bring to the club that warranted travelling to the other side of the globe? They aren't exactly Aine McDonagh or Eilish O'Dowd are they - so what made them stand out? In any case I'm expecting locals like Lara/Amelia to supplant them.

Why should the Irish be judged by a different standard to local players just because they come from further away? I think Julie and Paris are simply decent ordinary players. They may not survive when our list strength improves. I don't think they have to be stars like McDonagh just because they are from Ireland. Are they any less deserving of a spot than Caitlin Reid, Imogen Brown or even Darcy Moloney (or others who have now been delisted)? I think that at the time we were recruiting them we had to take whoever we could get and they were as good as anyone else we could get. We weren't blessed with rafts of high draft picks and they had relatively seasoned bodies and experience competing at a high level and, crucially, were willing to take a punt on us.

Julie O'Sullivan's tenacity especially has impressed me at times and I have hopes she could carve out a decent career once she overcomes her knee injury. She is a committed defender who concentrates well, is disciplined, does the team thing. She's not sublimely talented but, also, she's still adjusting to a new sport and may well have upside in her.

 

[joeykanga]

Why should the Irish be judged by a different standard to local players just because they come from further away? I think Julie and Paris are simply decent ordinary players. They may not survive when our list strength improves. I don't think they have to be stars like McDonagh just because they are from Ireland. Are they any less deserving of a spot than Caitlin Reid, Imogen Brown or even Darcy Moloney (or others who have now been delisted)? I think that at the time we were recruiting them we had to take whoever we could get and they were as good as anyone else we could get. We weren't blessed with rafts of high draft picks and they had relatively seasoned bodies and experience competing at a high level and, crucially, were willing to take a punt on us.

Julie O'Sullivan's tenacity especially has impressed me at times and I have hopes she could carve out a decent career once she overcomes her knee injury. She is a committed defender who concentrates well, is disciplined, does the team thing. She's not sublimely talented but, also, she's still adjusting to a new sport and may well have upside in her.

I understand your points.
However:
We're no longer in that position of accepting what we could get or hold on to.
The other players youve listed there. Caitlin is a need for us in ruck depth, improved a lot and showed plenty. Ruck is not really a position clubs take Irish talent for. I thought Ruby showed more than Paris did this year. Its not really about why we signed her( there was that 3 goal match last season where she was exciting, skilful and hunting. For me now she doesnt stand out in any kind of way. Maybe shes that older head thats needed with such a young team. I can see your points about Julie and i can see her improvement and value to the team. Tanya has just leapt out onto a different stratosphere. You could always see why she was in the team. Maybe there are other factors in play with Paris where it looked like a year that didnt follow up the promise from the 3 goal game. Maybe she was played differently and was a bit lost out there.
Theres way more than just McDonagh that shine at other clubs. Thats selling the quality aspect of Irish talent short and they are a free hit. We just have to identify them. Richmond have just signed another promising champion Gaelic player. Why are we not at least seeing whats out there.

 

[RnR from RWO]

Why should the Irish be judged by a different standard to local players just because they come from further away?

If I travel half the way across Sydney to get to Zi Teresa's Pizza in Hornsby, it's not because they produce decent ordinary pizza's.
Likewise in my honest opinion, there's no point getting some young woman to travel to the other side of the world when they are simply "decent ordinary players" - could we not move some decent ordinary local girl from the Academy to rookie? AND help reinforce our most important talent highway at the same time?
I'm not against getting Irishwomen, but maybe look for someone that is exceptional or different (or both).

 

[joeykanga]

If I travel half the way across Sydney to get to Zi Teresa's Pizza in Hornsby, it's not because they produce decent ordinary pizza's.
Likewise in my honest opinion, there's no point getting some young woman to travel to the other side of the world when they are simply "decent ordinary players" - could we not move some decent ordinary local girl from the Academy to rookie? AND help reinforce our most important talent highway at the same time?
I'm not against getting Irishwomen, but maybe look for someone that is exceptional or different (or both).

Ps thanks for the tips on the pizza

 

[Callipygian]

If I travel half the way across Sydney to get to Zi Teresa's Pizza in Hornsby, it's not because they produce decent ordinary pizza's.
Likewise in my honest opinion, there's no point getting some young woman to travel to the other side of the world when they are simply "decent ordinary players" - could we not move some decent ordinary local girl from the Academy to rookie? AND help reinforce our most important talent highway at the same time?
I'm not against getting Irishwomen, but maybe look for someone that is exceptional or different (or both).

A couple of points:

1. I think we engaged McCarthy and O'Sullivan because we thought they were more promising than any local Academy girl, and they have probably vindicated that without wildly exceeding what a local player may have offered.

2. Unfortunately (or not) there don't appear to be any rookie spots on W lists.

3. Even accepting your principle that we shouldn't get an Irish player to do what a local could do just as well, if we do that anyway, perhaps that's not the fault of the Irish player and shouldn't be held against them.

I will have to look out for an opportunity to try Zi Teresa. I love word of mouth recommendations!

 

[Kiama Chris]

A couple of points:

1. I think we engaged McCarthy and O'Sullivan because we thought they were more promising than any local Academy girl, and they have probably vindicated that without wildly exceeding what a local player may have offered.

2. Unfortunately (or not) there don't appear to be any rookie spots on W lists.

3. Even accepting your principle that we shouldn't get an Irish player to do what a local could do just as well, if we do that anyway, perhaps that's not the fault of the Irish player and shouldn't be held against them.

I will have to look out for an opportunity to try Zi Teresa. I love word of mouth recommendations!

Re #1 they definitely were at the time. The available quality has skyrocketed.

 

[RnR from RWO]

3. Even accepting your principle that we shouldn't get an Irish player to do what a local could do just as well, if we do that anyway, perhaps that's not the fault of the Irish player and shouldn't be held against them.

No fault (or against holding) was intentionally directed towards the Irish women, whatsoever. Zero. NIL.

If you really wanted to draw a long bow, you could maybe suggest I was having a go at the recruiting - maybe, if you wanted to.

However, with the benefit of hindsight would you have preferred to have picked

A) Julie O'Sullivan, Paris McCarthy and Jennifer Higgins or

B) Eilish Sheerin, Caitlin Reid and an Imogen Brown (or some other unknown local that we overlooked)

And even if you regard the two lists as of equal merit - you should favour the B, because of the enormous positive benefits to be had by boosting the local talent pathway.

PS
Noted regarding Rookies, I should have said junk-pick or Expansion pick or whatever the correct nonclemature is/was.

 

[joeykanga]

Re #1 they definitely were at the time. The available quality has skyrocketed.

Although GWS had that late 30s in age forward superstar. Cora Staunton.
The Cora effect: What's behind the explosion of Irish AFLW interest? - https://www.afl.com.au/aflw/news/1002319
To be fair the above article shows quite a few good Irish players signed by other clubs in seasons 7 and 8. We signed our trio for season 7. Jennifer Higgins the 3rd of the trio was let go after one season. Quite a few clubs identified better Irish talent for season 7. We did delist Jennifer so there was no loyalty there.

 

[Callipygian]

No fault (or against holding) was intentionally directed towards the Irish women, whatsoever. Zero. NIL.

If you really wanted to draw a long bow, you could maybe suggest I was having a go at the recruiting - maybe, if you wanted to.

However, with the benefit of hindsight would you have preferred to have picked

A) Julie O'Sullivan, Paris McCarthy and Jennifer Higgins or

B) Eilish Sheerin, Caitlin Reid and an Imogen Brown (or some other unknown local that we overlooked)

And even if you regard the two lists as of equal merit - you should favour the B, because of the enormous positive benefits to be had by boosting the local talent pathway.

PS
Noted regarding Rookies, I should have said junk-pick or Expansion pick or whatever the correct nonclemature is/was.

Glad to hear no fault was directed towards the Irish players but it kind of feels critical when we are lamenting that they are not as good as others like McDonagh or O'Dowd. [Just as I didn't suggest you blamed the players but I can see why you might feel like I implied that you had. I retract any such implication with apology for any offence caused.] I have to confess that, because I don't follow the other teams, I didn't even know who O'Dowd was. There are actually about 30 Irish players in AFLW and they are by no means all stars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Irish_female_players_of_Australian_rules_football.

So, to return to your original comment about not understanding the "Irish experiment", I feel like we were doing exactly what many other teams have done with mixed success. We were experimenting. I guess our hopes were that they could be great players (much as with most players that get drafted) and it turns out a couple of them are ok players, deserving of a spot for now but not stars.

At the same time as selecting these Irish players we did also select locals and had likewise had mixed success - from Alice Mitchell and Ella Heads to Zoe Hurrell or Kiara Beesley. We also grabbed the Irish Tanya Kennedy out of the local competition (not sure which category you'd put her into, but I'd suggest local). So it's not like we neglected the local options. Personally I have no great issue with the recruiting, I like our Irish players, and I still don't think that an Irish player has to be a star to be deserving of selection. Of course with hindsight I'd be glad to have recruited Eilish Sheerin, although I am not yet sold on Imogen Brown. Sheerin was most deserving of her BOG in the GF!

Let's hope our next Irish recruit does turn out to be a star - but how can one know in advance? Let's see how many of the Irish players recruited this year turn out to be stars. Perhaps the lowest hanging Irish fruit have already been harvested.

 

[Callipygian]

Interesting to hear Taylor Smith refer repeatedly to the "off-field opportunities" that Sydney offers [in the video I just posted from the club website in the media thread]. I feel like that has to have been a significant part of the lure of Sydney for her. I wonder if these are opportunities that she wanted to pursue independently (possibly completely not related to footy) or if they are commercial and vocational opportunities created by the club.

 

[joeykanga]

Interesting to hear Taylor Smith refer repeatedly to the "off-field opportunities" that Sydney offers [in the video I just posted from the club website in the media thread]. I feel like that has to have been a significant part of the lure of Sydney for her. I wonder if these are opportunities that she wanted to pursue independently (possibly completely not related to footy) or if they are commercial and vocational opportunities created by the club.

She's a teacher and she's also had involvement with indigeneous programs through footy. Maybe it's in the education field that she's hinting at. These 2 articles really highlight her story and dedication. She had some big setbacks to overcome. https://www.goldcoastfc.com.au/news/306661/aflw-feature-smiths-journey-to-the-top-of-two-sports.

https://news.griffith.edu.au/2021/04/22/meet-the-aflw-champion-juggling-sport-and-study/

 

[Kiama Chris]

She's a teacher and she's also had involvement with indigeneous programs through footy. Maybe it's in the education field that she's hinting at. These 2 articles really highlight her story and dedication. She had some big setbacks to overcome. https://www.goldcoastfc.com.au/news/306661/aflw-feature-smiths-journey-to-the-top-of-two-sports.

https://news.griffith.edu.au/2021/04/22/meet-the-aflw-champion-juggling-sport-and-study/

Pounds to peanuts she's doing a masters through the elite athlete program (the one Montana is/was using). Great opportunity.
Sounds like a terrific young woman with heaps of character.

 

[joeykanga]

Pounds to peanuts she's doing a masters through the elite athlete program (the one Montana is/was using). Great opportunity.
Sounds like a terrific young woman with heaps of character.

I must admit i hadnt heard that expression before. I probably have because i do like my Brit drama and comedy viewing but i hadnt thought about the meaning. I think yo're surely right about the Masters.
Therefore i wont risk my peanuts for your pounds

 

[Kiama Chris]

I must admit i hadnt heard that expression before. I probably have because i do like my Brit drama and comedy viewing but i hadnt thought about the meaning. I think yo're surely right about the Masters.
Therefore i wont risk my peanuts for your pounds

My Dad's mum (all 4'8" of her) came from Darlington, County Durham and had many sayings from around 1900 or thereabouts. That plus I grew up out west. Between them I am an endless source of silly sayings.