A SUN TAYLA MADE
Upbringing shapes a star
AS one of 17 siblings, Tayla Thorn could have fielded her own backyard family footy team.
While her parents divorced when she was young, splitting up the 14 girls and three boys, Thorn’s childhood was never short of activity.
Sunday afternoons at the football-watching her dad play became a weekly ritual as she and her siblings and cousins splashed around in puddles while the contest continued on-field.
“I should’ve been a boy,” she joked. “On my mum’s side, I’m the youngest of six girls and my parents split up when I was young so I grew up playing by myself while my sisters were the whole forward line for the local hockey team.”
Growing up in Arnhem Land’s Cobourg Peninsula, Thorn spent her formative years playing touch football and basketball until the point her life self-admittedly began to spiral and footy emerged as a saving grace.
“When I hit middle school, I started hanging around with the wrong crowd and wasn’t involved in much of my education but as soon as footy came around, teachers started using it as an incentive for me to come to school,” Thorn said.
At the age of 14, Thorn started playing alongside women in her local league.
When she was just 18, Thorn became the youngest player on Adelaide’s inaugural AFLW list after being drafted with the Crows’ 12th pick.
“On draft day, I wanted to go to work and all my colleagues told me not to come in but I didn’t want to watch the draft because I was scared,” she said.
Thorn made her debut in Round 1, going on to play five games for the year which was enough for the Crows to offer her a rookie contract for the following season.
But the now 21-year-old turned down the contract, deciding she wasn’t emotionally ready to continue her career at the highest level.
“It all happened (getting drafted) so quickly,” she said.
“Being in the footy eye for that long, it takes a toll on you.
“After the first season, I wanted the chance to experience things and do things without being looked at. I did a lot of learning more about me and what I want to do outside of footy because it’s obviously not a full-time job yet.
“Once I did that, I rediscovered my passion for the game.
“I’m back now and wanting to stay here for a while.”
Thorn’s two-year AFLW sabbatical came to an end in August 2019 when she signed with the Suns and guaranteed her return to the highest level following two Winter Series games with the club.
Now all that’s left for the development officer to complete her AFLW fairytale is to secure one of 21 spots in the Suns’ inaugural team for Saturday’s Round 1 clash against the GWS Giants, the very team she debuted against when playing for the Crows.
“The first thing I’ll think of is my girls back home because I work at a school and if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be back in the AFLW system,” said Thorn who mentors indigenous youth in Darwin.
“It will be all worth it.”