U18's representatives (L) Troy Taylor of Northern Territory. Slattery Images
Troy Taylor was one of the feel-good stories of the draft. Nabbed by Richmond at pick 51, the 188cm teen from the Northern Territory had made it to the AFL despite his troubled past. At the beginning of last year, it would have looked like an impossible dream.
As The Age reported prior to the draft: “Taylor and his mother Tania spoke openly about the trouble he had gotten into: latching onto the wrong mates, helping them rob a service station in Darwin, breaching a good-behaviour bond by sneaking out at night and getting into fights, the last of which resulted in him being placed in the detention centre for four months.
“He walked out in February determined to never go back and since then has moved to Alice Springs with his mum, been welcomed back into the Territory team, starred, played a handful of games for the senior Territory team in the Queensland league and been invited to last week’s draft camp in Canberra.”
His journey was not a typical one. It was his motivation for an AFL career that ultimately brought about a change in attitude and a new focus.
The fact he started the year in a detention centre is truly remarkable.
Unfortunately, reports of how he ended the year have now silenced a lot of the optimism that came from his drafting.
Richmond confirmed on Monday that Taylor will face court after being charged with assault following an incident that took place at a street party in Alice Springs on New Year’s Eve.
“The Richmond Football Club has a professional network of support helping Troy address his issues but we have also advised Troy that he needs to take personal responsibility for the decisions he makes,” club CEO Brendan Gale said in a statement.
It hasn’t taken long for supporters of other clubs – some of whom desperately wanted to draft Taylor in spite of his off-field concerns – to start jumping up and down about Richmond’s decision to take him.
Others have been quick to place this in the “footballers behaving badly” file, right next to a couple of other high-profile incidents in the past few months. Some have condemned the youngster for not acknowledging the great opportunity he had in front of him.
Worse still, the term “career in doubt” has been thrown around in the reporting of the incident.
But instead of being critical or overreacting, we should remember where he came from, and also where he is.
New Tigers coach Damien Hardwick has to date portrayed himself as a no-nonsense coach who is willing to put time and effort into young players.
The eldest player on the club’s list, Ben Cousins, is someone who knows all too well what having your AFL career in the balance feels like. And what it feels like to win it back.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Richmond sounds like the perfect place for Taylor to be right now.
Indeed, the club’s handling of the incident – supporting Taylor but certainly not condoning his decisions – seems to be the best way to handle things. The support systems at an AFL club may just be exactly what he needs.
For a raw talent of his size, on the field the term “work in progress” comes to mind. It seems as though it also applies off the field, too.
Remember, it was his motivation for an AFL career that got him here. Let’s at least give him the chance to find out how much further that motivation can take him.
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