‘More room to grow’: Full back Sam Taylor wants improvement from GWS Giants’ defence despite red-hot start

Sam Taylor should be happy with a 39-point win from the weekend, but he isn’t. The all-Australian full back is still annoyed the Giants conceded eight goals straight, and said there is plenty of room left for improvement.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 27: Sam Taylor and Toby Greene contest the ball during a GWS Giants AFL training session at VAILO Community Centre on February 27, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

No one sets a higher standard for themselves at the Giants than key defender Sam Taylor.

The all-Australian has become renowned as one of the best backmen in the competition and was at his best early against North Melbourne’s Nick Larkey on Saturday afternoon.

But despite the Giants’ dominance across many areas in their 39-point victory, Taylor is happy to share that he was dissatisfied with their efforts in the first half, in particular, letting the Kangaroos kick eight goals straight going into the main break.

“The first half I was very disappointed,” Taylor said.

“I think we’re getting known to be a stingy defence. And what we did in the first half, or even the whole game, I don’t think it was up to our standard. It’s all good getting the applause and respect, but we just can’t be complacent about it.

“Kicking eight straight, we’ve got to scrap a bit more and be a bit more physical. We shouldn’t be allowing eight straight, we should be making it tough for our opponents.

“We sort of kept them in the game for the first three quarters. But we can look at it more as a positive, we’re not at our best at the moment, and nor should we be.

“We want to start peaking come September, but there’s so much more room to grow. It’s a good sign being able to have a bad performance and then still have a convincing win.”

Despite Larkey kicking three goals on Saturday, Taylor still comfortably had the better of their match-up. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

It’s a testament to his standards that despite his disappointment, Taylor was still clearly among the best players on the field. He finished with a game-high 12 intercept possessions and five contested marks as North Melbourne only managed nine marks inside 50 for the match.

It’s his ability to identify opposition weaknesses and quickly turn them into an advantage that separates him from the rest.

“I think there’s a number of things that go into (defending),” Taylor said.

“It’s who is kicking the ball – some players like to bite off a bit more and some players aren’t confident. Where their eyes are going as well.

“Then you always want to keep the forward guessing. Make them engage you and keep surprising them.

“Then it’s also knowing the opposition’s game plan. If they love going through the middle, I’m going to stand more in the corridor. If they like chaining it, I’m going to come forward stronger and be more aggressive.

“Over the last six, seven years, you pick up a few little things along the way. As a kid growing up as a defender, I’ve always been pretty good at intercepting. But adding things to my game? I take a lot of pride in it.”

Taylor backs himself to read the flight of the ball better than most, and his numbers back it up. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

Thankfully for Taylor, he’s got plenty of help alongside him. While Harry Himmelberg’s full-time move into defence was destined to be a success, Connor Idun and Jack Buckley have also developed into two of the strongest one-on-one defenders in the AFL.

it means the Giants are blessed with options down back. That was emphasised by Nick Haynes being pushed into the sub role, despite his impressive game against Collingwood, to facilitate the return of Harry Perryman. Adam Kingsley knows his best back seven and has no intention of making changes if he doesn’t have to.

And their cohesion is so strong that as a group they continue to get better every weekend.

“Things were pretty good last year and (pre-season was) just getting more confident with each other and knowing each other’s sort traits,” Taylor said.

“I think we have the best backline in the league, but just to accept that and do nothing about it, we’ve still got to show up and perform well and beat our opponents and not take it easy.

“Being a part of a great system and playing alongside those blokes, you trust them so much to get their job done. And for me to be aggressive and to support my teammates, they’ve got to cover my man as well.

“Playing together for a few years now as a unit builds your confidence and you work more fluidly. I love those blokes, we play well together and hopefully, we can keep doing that.”

Originally published as ‘More room to grow’: Full back Sam Taylor wants improvement from GWS Giants’ defence despite red-hot start