| Taylor Walker | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Walker playing for Adelaide in May 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Taylor Walker | ||
| Nicknames | Tex, The Texan | ||
| Born | (1990-04-25)25 April 1990 (age 35) Broken Hill,New South Wales | ||
| Original teams | North Broken Hill (BHFL) NSW/ACT Rams (TAC Cup) | ||
| Draft | No. 75(NSW SP),2007 national draft | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 2009,Adelaide vs.Collingwood, atMCG | ||
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Weight | 102 kg (225 lb) | ||
| Position | Key forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Adelaide | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2008– | Adelaide | 301 (680) | |
| Representative team honours | |||
| Years | Team | Games (Goals) | |
| 2020 | All Stars | 1 (0) | |
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2025 season. 2 Representative statistics correct as of 2020. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
Adelaide
AFL
| |||
| Sources:AFL Tables,AustralianFootball.com | |||
Taylor Walker (born 25 April 1990) is a professionalAustralian rules footballer who plays for theAdelaide Football Club in theAustralian Football League (AFL). He was drafted with pick 75 in the2007 national draft and captained Adelaide from 2015 to 2019.
In 2020, Walker became Adelaide's all-time leading goalkicker.[1] Walker kicked a career-high 76 goals in 2023, making theAll-Australian team for the first time.[2]
Walker attended Willyama High School inBroken Hill.[3] His father, Wayne, was a prominent footballer in Broken Hill who played more than 350 games. Wayne wasn't a gifted or natural player but trained very hard and became a highly respected centreman for the Centrals in Broken Hill.[4] In 2006, Walker accepted a NSW Scholarship contract with Adelaide at the age of 16.[5] However, he continued to play for his senior local amateur league team, North Broken Hill, in theBroken Hill Football League, leading them to the 2007 premiership with a seven-goal, best-on-ground performance, playing at centre half-forward.[6]
Walker was drafted with pick 75 in the2007 national draft.[7]
Walker spent his first year at the Crows playing forNorwood in theSANFL, kicking more than 50 goals in the 2008 season.[4] He made his AFL debut in round 1 the next season, againstCollingwood, and held his place in the side for the next 12 rounds.[8] This included a five-goal performance against reigning premiersHawthorn in round 10, which earned him anAFL Rising Star nomination.[9] However, only three weeks later he was dropped from the senior side and played just one more match for the season, with coachNeil Craig wanting him to work on deficiencies in his game.[8]
Walker returned to the side in 2010 and showed fluctuating form, showing glimpses of brilliance alongside some poor performances. He was dropped from the side on a number of occasions throughout the year, sparking rumours that he and head coachNeil Craig were not seeing eye to eye and that Craig was using Walker as a scapegoat for Adelaide's poor form throughout the year. Again, Walker was accused of not showing enough defensive pressure in the forward line. He finished with 35 goals for the season from 18 games, including two sets of four goals againstFremantle and thenGeelong.[citation needed]
Early in 2011, Walker was dropped once again and was seen drinking a beer on live television at a SANFL game, sparking speculation that he 'didn't care' and may have signed a contract with incoming expansion teamGreater Western Sydney, with whom Walker had been previously strongly linked.[10] However, late in the season, Walker re-signed with the Crows for a further four years.[citation needed] Despite inconsistent form and injuries, Walker was the club's leading goalkicker in 2011, booting 32 goals from only 13 games, at an average of 2.5 per game, ranked sixth in the AFL.[11]
In 2012, Walker improved under new coachBrenton Sanderson. By Round 8, Walker led theColeman Medal count before two separate suspensions for rough tackles cost him the chance to lead the league's goalscoring.[12][13] However, Walker returned to finish the season in good form, booting five goals in Adelaide's come-from-behind Semi-Final win overFremantle,[14] and four goals the next week in the Crows' Preliminary Final loss toHawthorn.[15] In total, Walker kicked 63 goals for the season and averaged 3.3 goals per game, second in the AFL behindLance Franklin.[11]
In Round 5, 2013, againstCarlton, Walker hyperextended his right knee and suffered ananterior cruciate ligament injury requiring a full reconstruction and 12-month rehabilitation period.[16] In the meantime, Walker made headlines by appearing onThe Footy Show and agreeing to shave his famousmullet to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation. He then went on to raise a total of $66,672.45 for the foundation before having his head shaved by TV personality and formerGeelong playerSam Newman.[17]
Walker made his return to competitive football early in the 2014 season in theAdelaide Crows reserves' side, kicking three goals in a 37-point loss toGlenelg.[18] He made his return to the AFL againstCollingwood in Round 9 at theAdelaide Oval, and played every game for the remainder of the season, kicking multiple goals in 11 games and a career-best six against theBrisbane Lions. He finished with 34 goals in 15 games, and averaged a career-high 14.7 disposals per game.[11] In November, Walker extended his contract with the Crows for three further years, until the end of 2018.[19]
In January 2015, Walker was appointed captain of Adelaide.[3] He returned to his best form in that year, finishing fourth in theColeman Medal with 55 goals in the home-and-away season and leading the club inspirationally as they overcame the death of senior coachPhil Walsh to make the semi-finals.[11] He played his 100th AFL game in round 18 against theSydney Swans at theSydney Cricket Ground, fittingly in his home state of New South Wales.[20]
In 2016, he was voted the AFL Player's Association captain of the year.[21]
Walker went into his third season as captain with a full pre-season of training,[22] but when the season began there were concerns that a hamstring strain suffered in aJLT Series match againstBrisbane Lions could rule him out of the Crows’ first match againstGreater Western Sydney.[23] He worked hard to recover, going to extra training sessions in the week leading up to the match,[24] but was ultimately left out of the team. He returned in the second round againstHawthorn.[25] Walker began the season with great form, starring with five goals and four goal assists in the first half againstEssendon in the absence of fellow key forwardsJosh Jenkins andMitch McGovern.[26] He kicked 18 goals in his first five games while Adelaide remained undefeated, but he began to struggle, only kicking 16 in his next seven with the Crows losing five of those games.[27] Though he was still contracted to play for the club until 2018, Walker signed a contract extension to the end of 2021.[28] In a match against theWestern Bulldogs, Walker bumped defenderJason Johannisen into a goal post. Johannisen went on to play the rest of the match, but the incident was looked at by theMatch Review Panel,[29] who charged Walker with misconduct and fined him $1,000.[30] Walker missed the final match of the home and away season againstWest Coast due to a toe injury.[31]
Walker captained Adelaide in the2017 AFL Grand Final, which they lost toRichmond by 48 points . Walker performed underwhelmingly and admitted that he was one of the players who didn’t play their role well enough. After the match he was criticised over the brevity of his post-match speech.[32] When teammateJake Lever requested a trade from Adelaide toMelbourne, Walker was again criticised for saying that Lever was “choosing money over success”.[33] Weeks laterBryce Gibbs was traded to Adelaide fromCarlton and Walker was accused of holding double standards, which he denied saying that Gibbs had come to Adelaide to spend time with family and accepted a pay cut.[34]
On 4 September 2019, Walker stepped down as the club's captain, following a season sharing the role withRory Sloane.[35] The change in captaincy coincided with a change in coaching, asDon Pyke stepped aside forMatthew Nicks.
On 19 September 2020, Walker became the all-time leading goalkicker for the Adelaide Crows. He scored his 441st goal for the club in Round 18 of the shortened 2020 season againstRichmond, surpassingTony Modra's previous record of 440. He was alsoAdelaide's leading goalkicker for theCOVID-shortened2020 season, scoring 15 goals;[36] this was the lowest tally for any club's highest scorer sinceJack James totalled 13 goals for St Kilda in the1920 season (exactly 100 years prior).[37]
Walker started the2021 season in resurgent form, kicking 17 goals in his first three games and beating his 2020 tally in the process, finishing the year with 48 goals, his highest return since 2017. He joinedJonathan Brown as the second AFL player since1993 to kick five or more goals in each of the first three rounds of a season.[38] He was widely lauded for returning to near career-best form in 2021, after a disappointing 2020 season where many commentators were questioning his future in the game. His return to form was highlighted with a match-winning goal against the previously unbeatenMelbourne in round 10, resulting in a one-point victory labelled as the "upset of the season".[39]
Before the Round 21Showdown match withPort Adelaide, news broke of Walker having made a racist comment aboutNorth AdelaideSANFL playerRobbie Young. After an AFL investigation, Walker was suspended for six matches.[40] He was also ordered to donate $20,000 to a South Australian Indigenous program, undergo a racial sensitivity education program, and apologise to all Adelaide and North Adelaide players. Walker made an apology video over the incident with Young in frame.[41] Young accepted Walker's apology in the ABC interview, although the apology was criticised by some Indigenous leaders in the AFL community.[42]
Walker had another outstanding season in2022, being Adelaide's leading goalkicker for a record sixth time with 47 goals for the year, breaking the record set byTony Modra in 1997, the year Adelaide won the premiership. Walker kicked four goals in his return game from suspension against Essendon in Round 4. He kicked bags of five goals against Richmond in Round 5 and Collingwood in Round 18, as well as a bag of six against North Melbourne in Round 15. Walker was named in the All Australian squad of 40, but did not make the final team.
Walker had a somewhat quiet start to the 2023 season, kicking only three goals in the first three games. He returned to form in Round 4, kicking four goals against Fremantle. In his 250th match in Round 13, 2023, Walker would go on to kick a career-high 10 goals[43] against an undermannedWest Coast side,[44] crushing his previous personal best of seven goals against theBrisbane Lions in 2015.[45] In Showdown LIV in Round 20, Walker was awarded theShowdown Medal after a major seven goal haul. After kicking another nine goals against West Coast in the final round of the season, Walker temporarily lead theColeman Medal tally untilCharlie Curnow kicked three goals inCarlton's final game to take the medal from Taylor Walker.[46] Regardless, Walker's final tally of 76 goals in a season is the most of any Crow sinceTony Modra in1997, when he won the Coleman Medal. Walker capped off his career-best season with his first selection in theAll-Australian team[2] and a personal-best 16Brownlow votes.
Walker missed the first game of the2024 season againstGold Coast due to injury. In round 8, Walker kicked two goals to overtakeBrendan Fevola in the all-time goalkicking category, totalling 624 goals and sitting in 33rd place. Following five consecutiveleading goalkicker awards at Adelaide, Walker's forward dominance was finally relinquished by the rise of youngDarcy Fogarty in 2024.[47] Following the conclusion of Adelaide's season, the out-of-contract Walker signed on for another year,[48] despite rumours that he could finish his career at a rival club.[49]Greater Western Sydney free agentIsaac Cumming chose Adelaide as his club of destination in the off-season, citing Walker as an influence due to their sharedBroken Hill roots.[50]
Club
Individual
G | Goals | K | Kicks | D | Disposals | T | Tackles |
B | Behinds | H | Handballs | M | Marks | ||
† | Led the league for the season |
| Season | Team | No. | Games | Totals | Averages (per game) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | B | K | H | D | M | T | G | B | K | H | D | M | T | |||||
| 2009 | Adelaide | 13 | 14 | 23 | 19 | 88 | 22 | 110 | 57 | 25 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 6.3 | 1.6 | 7.9 | 4.1 | 1.8 | 1 |
| 2010 | Adelaide | 13 | 18 | 35 | 28 | 144 | 69 | 213 | 84 | 30 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 8.0 | 3.8 | 11.8 | 4.7 | 1.7 | 1 |
| 2011 | Adelaide | 13 | 13 | 32 | 13 | 85 | 61 | 146 | 61 | 9 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 6.5 | 4.7 | 11.2 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 0 |
| 2012 | Adelaide | 13 | 19 | 63 | 35 | 191 | 82 | 273 | 128 | 28 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 10.1 | 4.3 | 14.4 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 7 |
| 2013 | Adelaide | 13 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 40 | 21 | 61 | 23 | 8 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 8.0 | 4.2 | 12.2 | 4.6 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 2014 | Adelaide | 13 | 15 | 34 | 22 | 138 | 82 | 220 | 84 | 24 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 9.2 | 5.5 | 14.7 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 5 |
| 2015 | Adelaide | 13 | 23 | 59 | 45 | 253 | 73 | 326 | 171 | 31 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 14.2 | 7.4 | 1.6 | 10 |
| 2016 | Adelaide | 13 | 23 | 47 | 37 | 235 | 97 | 332 | 97 | 34 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 14.4 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 6 |
| 2017 | Adelaide | 13 | 23 | 54 | 35 | 237 | 105 | 342 | 146 | 44 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 10.3 | 4.6 | 14.9 | 6.3 | 1.9 | 7 |
| 2018 | Adelaide | 13 | 14 | 26 | 17 | 106 | 55 | 161 | 59 | 30 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 7.6 | 3.9 | 11.5 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 5 |
| 2019 | Adelaide | 13 | 22 | 43 | 22 | 175 | 89 | 264 | 112 | 32 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 3 |
| 2020 | Adelaide | 13 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 74 | 31 | 105 | 36 | 14 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 7.5 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Adelaide | 13 | 17 | 48 | 29 | 155 | 72 | 227 | 90 | 23 | 2.8 | 1.7 | 9.1 | 4.2 | 13.3 | 5.2 | 1.3 | 9 |
| 2022 | Adelaide | 13 | 18 | 47 | 23 | 168 | 87 | 255 | 94 | 36 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 9.3 | 4.8 | 14.2 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 14 |
| 2023 | Adelaide | 13 | 22 | 76 | 34 | 226 | 60 | 286 | 124 | 29 | 3.5† | 1.5 | 10.3 | 2.7 | 13.0 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 16 |
| 2024 | Adelaide | 13 | 18 | 29 | 20 | 143 | 49 | 192 | 100 | 25 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 7.9 | 2.7 | 10.7 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 0 |
| 2025 | Adelaide | 13 | 23 | 39 | 27 | 196 | 85 | 281 | 112 | 26 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 8.5 | 3.7 | 12.2 | 4.9 | 1.1 | |
| Career | 301 | 680 | 421 | 2653 | 1140 | 3793 | 1636 | 448 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 8.8 | 3.8 | 12.6 | 5.4 | 1.5 | 84 | ||
Walker has a weekly segment onTriple M Adelaide's Breakfast Radio hosted byMark Ricciuto,Chris Dittmar, and Laura O'Callaghan.[52]
