PLAYING his 280th AFL senior game last Saturday against Essendon, along with 19 pre-season matches and the AFL Allstars v Victoria Bushfire Relief Match at the start of 2020 at Marvel Stadium, means Broken Hill’s longest serving football servant collected another significant honour.
Taylor Walker clocked up 300 games in total and has earned AFL life membership status with the organisation.
His accolade will officially be received at the 2026 season launch.
“I very grateful for the acknowledgment and the accolade,” Walker told the Broken Hill Times, after the win against Essendon last Saturday.
“My journey has been amazing, with a little left in this chapter to write.
“It’s a massive honour for hard work and resilience across the journey so far.
“I’m also thankful to do it with the support of great mates, mentors and my family.”
Walker confirmed being recognised with the accolade is a chance to reflect on his football journey from North Broken Hill to the present.
“I only found out about it recently, and it is certainly one of my proudest accomplishments,” he said in a recent radio interview.
“When you become a life member it means you’ve had a fair journey at a certain business or sporting club.
“It’s very humbling and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have spent so much time at the club I grew up barracking for.
“I’m very, very chuffed to be honest.”
This is Walker’s 18th season as a Crow, after being drafted back in 2007 with pick number 75, the last pick in the main draft, as an NSW scholarship selection.
It has proved to be one of the biggest bargains the Adelaide Football Club’s recruiting staff have engineered over their 35 years at the AFL draft.
His first season in Adelaide was with Norwood in the SANFL, during 2008, winning the club’s leading goal kicker award with 56 majors.
He debuted in round 1, 2009 against Collingwood at the MCG.
Captaining the Crows for five years from 2015, he’s the club’s leading goal kicker, having won the award on seven separate occasions.
Before venturing down to West Lakes, Walker played in the North Broken Hill 2007 A grade premiership, kicking seven goals, and earlier that season he played for the NSW ACT Rams in the National under 18s championships, winning all All-Australian honours.
