To say Harry Taylor’s first half of 2014 has been below par is a gross understatement.
The cornerstone of Geelong’s backline since club great Matthew Scarlett retired at the end of 2012, Taylor has struggled to capture the spark, energy and form that stamped the him as one of the most imposing defenders of the past decade.
The 2014 version is anything but imposing. So what’s up with Harry?
Often the springboard and catalyst for stimulating the characteristic Geelong rebounds, Taylor has yet to hit his straps this year, and his poor form must be of some worry to the Geelong coaching hierarchy.
The numbers don’t lie when analysing Taylor’s performance.
In 2013, when he was named All-Australian centre half-back, Taylor was prolific. He seven games with 20-plus disposals and seven games with 10-plus marks. Apart from a 19 disposal and 13 grab effort, in the wet, against the Tigers in Round 7 it has been lean pickings for Taylor in 2014.
So far this season the 27-year-old has averaged only 12.7 disposals a game – five touches down on his career average. But what’s more alarming is that Taylor has dished up some absolute shockers along the way.
Not since Taylor arrived at the Cattery at the end of 2007 has the 2009 and 2011 premiership star produced so many average performances.
Against Fremantle in Round 9 Taylor was led in a merry dance by 300-game hero Matthew Pavlich, and his seven disposals came on the back of arguably his worst performance in Geelong colours, when he had only six possessions in the Cats’ hiding at the hands of the Power at Adelaide Oval in Round 7.
From an observer’s point of view, Taylor looks sluggish and listless. Not even a stint in the forward line hasn’t been able to extract the starch from the 144 gamer’s shorts.
In two of Geelong’s losses in 2014 – against Port Adelaide and Fremantle – Taylor has looked all at sea and terribly out of form when playing deep forward after the main break. Last season Taylor booted 15.6, on occasions, when swung forward on. This season his ventures into the front half have failed to yield a goal.
“Harry definitely looks flat this year,” Former champion Geelong key defender Tim McGrath said. “Without actually having analysed Taylor’s game in too much detail, on face value he appears to be struggling.”
McGrath believes rival coaches are aware that Taylor is out of touch and they might even be instructing their players to go through him.
“I wouldn’t be surprise the way the game is played now that opposition teams might be isolating Harry one on one while he is out of form, and clearly lacking confidence with his contested marking,” McGrath said.
“I rate Harry Taylor the best component of the contested mark I have seen in football. But at the moment he couldn’t catch a cold.
“And while this aspect of his game is down, and he isn’t prepared to back himself in the air I can see teams with powerful forward lines isolating him.”
Geelong has invested heavily in Taylor and rightly so. At his best he is easily in the top-10 footballers in the land and other than skipper Joel Selwood and power forward Tom Hawkins, Taylor is Geelong’s most valuable commodity.
In July last year Taylor turned his back on big-money offers to return home to Western Australia when he signed a lucrative five-year deal to see him remain a Cat for life. The long-term agreement was a massive show of faith by both club and player, and Taylor would be a tad disappointed with his own productivity in the infancy of that deal.
Taylor should really be pushing for All-Australian honours in 2014 but at the moment he is that from it it’s not funny.
McGrath believes Taylor’s form – which was scintillating before the contract signing – has fluctuated since he put pen to paper.
“His form since he signed that deal has been patchy,” McGrath said.
“Even late last year, in the three finals Geelong played, he wasn’t at his absolute best.
“This year is the same. He played ok against Hawthorn and Richmond, and he was serviceable against the Swans and Carlton, but he has been really inconsistent.”
Taylor has said publicly that he is a scholar of the game and he keeps a football journal with notes on each of his opponents in order to improve his game. This Sunday against St Kilda, at Simonds Stadium, Taylor will no doubt call on those notes when he gets first crack at Saints’ veteran and key forward Nick Riewoldt, who is having another stellar season.
With Geelong having the second worst defensive unit out of the other teams in the top eight, the Cats will be desperate for their back six, including Taylor, to get back to the form that made their defence arguably the best in the competition since the mid 2000s.
Tim McGrath believes Taylor’s best football is still well in front him, but concedes Taylor – who was runner up in the Cat’s 2013 best and fairest – needs to get back to his dominant best if the Cats are to seriously challenge for the 2014 premiership.
“If Taylor can’t get back to somewhere near his best, it is highly unlikely they can get anywhere near the likes of Sydney’s powerful forward line,” McGrath said.
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