Taylor Hunt to Tigerland. I was overseas when I heard the news and boy was I ecstatic. Why would you be ecstatic over a delisted free agent whose played 63 games in eight seasons I hear you say?
Well, here is why.
The Richmond Tigers have done particularly well in recruitment since the ‘Tambling era’. The evolution of football has allowed loyalty to be somewhat thrown out the window – and how good is that!
Players are doing more for themselves and greater for the clubs they end up at. Both parties are winning – oh the fans, forget them for the minute, you can’t please everyone. The Tigers have brought in the likes of Bachar Houli, Shaun Grigg and Troy Chaplin from other AFL clubs in recent years.
These three have settled into the Tigers’ line-up better than expected. However, despite being good footballers they lack one aspect of the game that I dearly miss. Courage.
You can teach athletes to position themselves to receive a handball, or lob a 55-metre pass into clear space for a forward to lead into. You can’t teach courage. You can’t teach the ability to put your body on the line. You can’t teach bravery.
Steve Morris, Nick Vlaustin and Trent Cotchin are Tigers that put their body on the line, that perpetuate the word courage. We need more of that. Taylor can deliver.
Now, the next bit won’t shock you – Taylor needs to be more dynamic. With Daniel Jackson gone, Taylor Hunt needs to fill his role as a tagger. However, courage and the ability to tag won’t keep you in AFL circles too long. Just like genuine full forwards are expiring, so are built-in taggers.
During Taylor’s final years at Geelong he has big roles on some quality opposition including Marc Murphy and Stephen Hill. He did well; he negated their influence on the game while collecting some of the football himself – but with how much damage? Not a lot to put it simply. Three goals playing on Marc Murphy was a highlight, but how easy is it to find one major highlight in a 63-game career.
His courage will shine through at Tigerland, I am sure of that. A player from a successful background who had to work for his spot every week at the Cattery will blossom with Tiger cubs around him. Will he do a great job tagging? Yes, we think so. Will he thrive without selection pressure? Let’s wait and see.
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