Daniel Talia reflects on 200 games with Adelaide Crows and the daily routine which has kept him on the paddock
Daniel Talia plays his 200th game this weekend but there’s one staple in his daily routine he has maintained from the moment he was drafted — and his teammates can’t bring themselves to try it.
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Daniel Talia plays his 200th game in his 11th AFL season this weekend and there has been one staple of his daily routine he has maintained from the day he was drafted.
“Nothing too weird,” he said this week, despite teammates describing his preparation as bordering on obsessive.
“I’ve got this ice bath at the club that I fill up with six bins of ice so that’s pretty freezing and a lot of the guys at the club can’t even get in there it’s that cold.
“I spend about half an hour in there each day, I’ve done it pretty much every day of my career, mostly first thing in the morning or whenever I can fit it in during the day. At home at times but mostly at the footy club.
“I use it as a bit of a reset and chill-out and sit on the phone and do a bit of business and get some time to yourself so it also helps me reset after training.
“And I do a lot of mobility and some weird leg kicks you might have seen pre-game to keep the body ticking along and fresh as well.”
The 28-year-old full back started paying extra attention to his weekly preparation during his injury struggles as a junior and when he was drafted by Adelaide with Pick No. 13 from the Calder Cannons in 2009 it went to another level.
“I had a really interrupted journey as a kid, I don’t think I strung three or four games together from 14 to 18 years of age so it was something I picked up during that period,” Talia said.
“And coming into the AFL system and being fifth or sixth in line behind guys like Phil Davis and Ben Rutten and Nathan Bock, I had to go above and beyond to be ready to go.
“I was lucky enough to learn off some of the greats of the club as well like Andrew McLeod, Simon Goodwin, Michael Doughty who were elite with their preparation and it’s no coincidence they all played over 200 games.
“I’ve tried to pass that trait on to the young guys now, professionalism is important in life outside of football as well, so I pride myself on that.”
Talia might be a professional footballer but life away from the game is just as important to him. It’s why he formed a close friendship with former Crows board member Bob Foord who sadly died in 2017.
Earlier this year Talia and Foord were awarded life membership to the club at its season launch which Talia said meant a lot to him.
“He was a very successful businessman in property and online, and he was known as the best bloke in the world,” Talia said.
“He helped me along with a couple of other guys at the club and we did a property development together, I put up the money obviously but he helped me with the process.
“We started it and unfortunately he passed away so to finish it two years later was really cool but also tough because I had to take it on myself, but that’s part of learning and I really enjoy that aspect outside of footy with business and property and the sharemarket.
“It’s been a cool journey and I really miss him obviously, it was a tough one at the time but he will forever be known as a legend around the club.”
Talia was given a baptism of fire when he was drafted by the Crows, being sent to South Adelaide in the SANFL to play against men.
“I played a bit everywhere as a junior, I was actually a midfielder for most of my career, then first year at the Crows and South I started forward and quickly worked out I was probably a better backman,” he said.
“That was an experience as well coming in as an 18-year-old and never playing senior footy and going to the bottom side (South Adelaide) that was getting pumped every week that certainly hardened me up pretty quickly.
“But that apprenticeship helped my AFL footy when I was able to come in and get a game.”
Over a decade later he is now a club champion (2014) and two-time All-Australian (2014, 2016) and has stood some of the game’s greatest ever forwards in Lance Franklin, Josh Kennedy, Tom Hawkins, Nick Riewoldt and Matthew Pavlich.
“It’s pretty exciting to play 200 games for the one club and anyone who knows me personally knows I’m a pretty loyal bloke so to get 200 games for the club that gave you an opportunity as an 18-year-old has been really special,” Talia said.
“It’s been pretty tough this year I’ve been carrying a few injuries and didn’t think I’d get here this year but I can’t thank the club enough and I’m just really proud.”
Talia is contracted to the Crows for next year and is hopeful of extending his career at West Lakes beyond that.
“We’ll see how it goes, I’m under no illusion the club is going down a different path so you’ve got to be realistic where you fit in with the club and we have those chats all the time,” he said.
But more pressing is trying to help Adelaide win its fourth consecutive game to close the season against Richmond on Saturday afternoon.
And in true style, if he does he might even have his first drink for the season too.
“I’m actually a red wine man but I’ve got to play well first,” he said.
reece.homfray@news.com.au