Harry Taylor Biography

The AFL has announced 12 new life members will be inducted at its annual general meeting in March.

Among them are Jack Riewoldt, Shannon Hurn, Ken Hinkley, Travis Boak, Tom Hawkins, Marc Murphy, Harry Taylor, Justin Westhoff, and Matthew Clarke.

Harry Taylor announces his retirement, calling an end to his 280-game career that included two premierships with the Cats.

"I limped into the Geelong Football Club bright-eyed and determined back in 2007 and limp off 4,723 days later in 2020 proud that I have given my absolute best to our great club," Taylor wrote in a letter to Geelong members.

"The one-on-one contests, the ice baths, the heartbreaking losses and the unbelievable victories at home or far away. I have tried to prepare as well as possible for every battle. You have been there with me through it all."

Joel Selwood will remain as Geelong skipper for a ninth consecutive season in 2020.

Patrick Dangerfield and Mark Blicavs will continue as co-vice captains alongside last year's members Mitch Duncan, Tom Stewart and Zach Tuohy.

Rounding out the seven-man leadership group is Mark O'Connor, who replaces veteran defender Harry Taylor.

Joel Selwood will captain Geelong for an eighth season in 2019.

Selwood will be joined by All Australian defender Tom Stewart in Geelong's seven-man leadership group, which sees Scott Selwood fall out.

Dual best and fairest Mark Blicavs has been elevated to co-vice-captain alongside Patrick Dangerfield, the pair retaining their positions on the panel with Mitch Duncan and Zach Tuohy.

2018 deputy vice-captain Harry Taylor relinquishes his title, however remains in the group.

Having made it back into the Cats' side with the team on the cusp of finals, Harry Taylor says managing his foot will be incorporated into his match preparation from now on.

"It's healing, starting to align and knit back together the right way, it's about just constantly looking after it at this stage," he said.

"It takes up a fair bit of time, daily just doing exercises around the intrinsic muscles in your feet, all those little muscles that help flex your toes and move your foot around.

"It's probably not overly onerous compared to other things that I do, I am quite meticulous in my preparation. It's just a new element that I haven't had to do in the last 11 years."

In his return from injury, Harry Taylor misses the chance to win the game off his own boot after hauling in a pack mark in the dying seconds against the Bulldogs with the Cats trailing by 3 points.

"I've dreamt about that, I've always wanted to have a shot after the siren," Taylor said after the match.

"You sort of go to sleep at nights playing that moment out, particularly in big games and unfortunately (I) just didn't execute right, didn't have a lot of momentum in my kick and (it) never really looked like it was going to go through. (I'm) bitterly disappointed for my teammates."

Harry Taylor limps from the ground approaching quarter time favouring his left foot, taking no further part in Geelong's three-point win over Melbourne.

"My understanding is that it's plantar fascia," Cats coach Chris Scott said post-game.

Joel Selwood will captain Geelong for a seventh-straight season and is set to become the longest-serving skipper in the club's 159-year history.

Selwood will lead a seven-man leadership group with Patrick Dangerfield again appointed as vice-captain and key defender Harry Taylor to act as deputy vice-captain.

Mark Blicavs, Mitch Duncan and Scott Selwood will continue in their leadership roles, while defender Zach Tuohy has been voted into the group in his second year at the club.

Harry Taylor signs a one-year contract extension with Geelong to remain at the club until the end of 2019.

"I'm excited about where the club is headed and when the approach was made, it was an easy decision to extend my contract here," Taylor said.

"Every aspect of our club is first-class and provides our team with every opportunity to succeed."

Shaking hands after a game is a football tradition, but Adelaide forward Josh Jenkins got an unexpected surprise when he approached Geelong swingman Harry Taylor.

Jenkins was in doubt to face the Cats after having a case of gastro from eating a dodgy ham early last week and Taylor was keen to remind him of his illness.

"When we separated there was ham in my palm," Jenkins told radio station FiveAA.

"It was probably about 25 grams worth from the deli. I wasn't getting too close to it … I was going to throw up.

"It was that small an amount you could have it hidden in your sock. I was dumbfounded."

Geelong says Harry Taylor will continue playing in the forward line despite his underwhelming start to the season.

Although Taylor has not transitioned into a full-time forward position, he is yet to register a goal in the opening three rounds despite spending lengthy periods in attack.

"What's best for Harry may well be just to play as a key defender, but it may well be that what's best for the team is for him to play forward," Geelong coach Chris Scott said.

"So in that scenario, Harry wants to play forward because he is … the quintessential team man."

Joel Selwood will lead Geelong once again after the club announced at its season launch on Wednesday night he would be Cats captain for the sixth consecutive season in 2017.

The 28-year-old's brother, Scott Selwood, will join him in the eight-man leadership group for the first time with 24-year-old Cam Guthrie also making his debut in the group.

Harry Taylor, Patrick Dangerfield, Tom Hawkins, Mitch Duncan and Mark Blicavs round out the Cats' leadership group for the year.

Geelong will persist with playing Harry Taylor forward in round one despite the former defender battling to have an impact for the third week in a row in the pre-season.

"Him [Taylor] and 'Hawk' [Hawkins] have not played side by side together for a long time so we are just working on that chemistry and if we get the ball in nice and quick, they are going to be a real handful," Cats assistant coach Matthew Scarlett said.

Tom Hawkins has called for patience as the Cats continue to experiment using All Australian defender Harry Taylor as a key forward.

"We're certainly going to need more time together in game situations, because you can't get a feel for how each other moves in regard to running patterns in training," Hawkins said.

"When the heat's on in a game, that's when you start to really develop some rapport."

Harry Taylor has taken his first step towards a potential coaching career when his playing days are over, joining the 2017 intake of the Next Coach program.

Taylor will be joined in this year's course by Richmond ruckman Ivan Maric, North Melbourne forward Lindsay Thomas and Fremantle rookie Brady Grey.

"I'm hoping this more pointed coaching I'll be getting will help me in developing relationships, imparting knowledge and helping educate other people," Taylor said.

"The other reason is simple, if I do go into coaching down the track this will give me a good grounding and a head start to being the best coach I can become."

Harry Taylor says it has become a concern to him that the eldest of his three children was able to name the gambling-related advertisements he saw when watching sport on TV.

"When my eldest can name a lot of the ads on TV, that is a bit of a worry," Taylor said.

"It's certainly something that we need to keep talking about [and] educating people about. It's not as simple as just cutting them out of the AFL."

For the second time in his 204-game career, Geelong defender Harry Taylor was on Friday night forced to play out a big final with a broken hand.

Taylor, who broke his hand in the first quarter of the 2009 Grand Final, suffered the same injury in the second quarter of Friday night's preliminary final against the Sydney Swans.

He revealed the extent of the injury, which seriously hampered him in the second half against the Swans, as he entered the Brownlow Medal on Monday night.

"I unfortunately broke it in the second quarter. I had some screws put in it Saturday after the game," the veteran backman said.

"Not ideal, but that's the way it goes.

"It's just unfortunate the way the season ended for the team and not what we wanted."

Harry Taylor said the wisdom of Cats' goalkicking coach Blake Caracella helped him deal with his pressure set shot late in the game against Richmond on Sunday.

With his side three points behind and five minutes remaining, Taylor kicked the goal to propel the Cats to an unlikely victory.

It was Taylor's first goal for the season and the first time he has been swung forward for the year.

"His [Caracella's] face kept popping up with his little cues for kicking goals," Taylor said.

"He is our goalkicking coach so I could see him pretty clearly and what he would be telling me to do."

Harry Taylor has a bottle of cognac waiting to be opened if he can be part of a third premiership at the Cats.

Set to play his 200th game on Sunday at the MCG against Richmond, the 30-year-old said he made the purchase after the 2011 premiership and resolved to drink it if he won another flag.

"That's still tucked away there ready to go. I'm getting thirsty and I would love to be able to taste that," Taylor said.

Geelong defender Harry Taylor says not going back with the flight of the ball might be the smartest decision of an AFL player's life.

Taylor says it's time for supporters and those inside clubs to have realistic expectations when it comes to what should be expected of players in the heat of battle.

Taylor said he understood that showing courage was part of the game but a more informed conversation was needed on the issue.

"One knock and that could be the end of your career. You could have some pretty bad repercussions for the rest of your life," Taylor said.

He said if a player did not go back with the flight as hard as some expected then they should not be criticised.

"There is clearly some [work on] technique that needs to happen but to berate someone and belittle someone for not going back with the flight … it might be the smartest decision they have ever made in their life," Taylor said.

Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan and Mark Blicavs are new additions to Geelong's leadership group for 2016.

The trio join existing leaders Joel Selwood, Harry Taylor and Tom Hawkins while veterans Corey Enright and Andrew Mackie have stepped down to make room for the new members.

Selwood will be captain for the fifth successive season while Taylor remains vice-captain.

Harry Taylor believes not taking the time to unwind was one of the key reasons why his 2015 season did not pan out the way he had envisaged.

"We didn't have the year that we wanted to as a team and as a leader of the club you really feel that burden," Taylor said.

"It can be really mentally draining over the course of the year. We're always searching for the next inch and eventually you wear down a bit.

"So this year I'm trying to find ways to relax when it's the right time to do so."

Robbie Gray will be one of six AFL Players flying to take part in an innovative Gatorade testing program to improve player hydration.

Joining Gray will be Hawthorn's Luke Hodge and Grant Birchall, Western Bulldogs forward Jake Stringer, Geelong defender Harry Taylor, West Coast's best and fairest winner Andrew Gaff and Power assistant coach Matthew Nicks.

Joel Selwood will lead the Cats for a fourth season after the club revealed a reduced leadership group for 2015.

Harry Taylor has been named vice-captain, while Tom Hawkins and Andrew Mackie remain in the group.

In what is expected to be his last AFL season, veteran Corey Enright has returned to the group after a two-year absence.

Steve Johnson, Mathew Stokes, James Kelly and Mitch Duncan have been left out of the reduced squad.

"We look forward to working together. We've got a job to do and we're really looking forward to getting down to it," Selwood said.

Seven commentator Brian Taylor has been stood down for 3AW's coverage of Sunday's Essendon-Collingwood clash as the fall-out continues from his on-air comment labelling Geelong player Harry Taylor "a big poofter".

Taylor made the remark about the Cats defender on Channel Seven on Saturday night.

"I've spoken to (3AW) management and they have chosen to give me a day off to collect my thoughts, so I'll take the opportunity to have a day off," Taylor said on Sunday.

"My apology of last night absolutely stands unequivocally.

"I made a blue, I apologised accordingly at the first opportunity to the Seven viewers where I made the blue."

3AW general manager Shane Healy apologised on behalf of the station.

"Even though these comments weren't made on 3AW … we do take this extremely seriously," Healy said.

"We just want to let our listeners know that we'll be talking to Brian tomorrow and we'll be certainly commending to him some quite serious counselling."

Harry Taylor will make his 150th appearance for the Cats in Sunday's clash with the Western Bulldogs at Simonds Stadium.

"It's my seventh year here now, so I feel like I've been around the place for a while," Taylor said.

"But the milestone does feel like it has come quite quickly.

"I'm happy to have achieved the things I have so far, but I'm certainly not content. There's plenty more goals that I want to tick off before I finish."

Harry Taylor says he needs to take on more leadership responsibility at the Cats in 2014.

"I am in the leadership group and I think that comes with the responsibility as a senior player to lead the way on the track and off the field," Taylor said.

"I am one of the more senior players now I guess, so I expect that from myself as well.

"You want your stars to stay around forever, but unfortunately that can't happen; you need to learn to respect and help the young guys as much as possible so they can become better players as quickly as they can."

Geelong defender Harry Taylor signs a new five-year contract with the Cats, turning his back on offers from Western Australian clubs.

"There's amazing people all through the club, from the people up the top all the way through to the player and the staff that work around here on a day-to-day basis," Taylor said about the Cats.

"It's just a great place to actually come to work every day. It was extremely hard to rationalise a move away from that."

Harry Taylor confirms via Twitter that he has signed a new contract with Geelong.

"As of 1610 (4.10pm) it's official," Taylor tweeted.

"To do list: sign contract. Amazing people, amazing culture, amazing club."

Geelong coach Chris Scott says he is delighted that Harry Taylor has recommitted to the club.

"Given our CEO Brian Cook's saying it's true, I'd tend to believe him," Scott said.

"I think it's a pretty nice carrot to dangle: the team success that Geelong's been able to enjoy."

Harry Taylor, currently on leave, is on the verge of a new deal with Geelong.

"All parties have agreed, but we just haven't got the signature yet," Cats CEO Brian Cook told SEN Radio.

"He'll be back in 10 days time and I think it'll all be done by then. We believe he's ours and it's only a matter of a couple of days now."

Usual defender Harry Taylor kicks six goals against GWS in a rare stint up forward.

Geelong defender Harry Taylor, drafted as a 21-year-old mature age recruit, will play his 100th game against GWS.

"I think the milestone is important to him," teammate Corey Enright said.

"He certainly isn't taking it for granted, especially when you consider he was a mature-age recruit. It something he's pretty proud of."

Geelong defender Harry Taylor says he would be willing to sacrifice pay to keep Gary Ablett from Gold Coast's clutches.

"Gary has the ability to just turn it on. From a personal point of view I'd love to play with him rather than against him, so I certainly would be willing [to take a pay cut], but I can't speak for the whole group," Taylor said.

"Gary is very level-headed. He keeps a lot of his personal life private, which is a great way to be. The players don't seem to worry about it at all. It's in the papers so often, but we tend to just worry about what we need to do and that's to win games of football."

Harry Taylor is revealed to have played the final three quarters of the Grand Final, mostly on champion St Kilda forward Nick Riewoldt, with a broken hand.

He suffered the injury during the first quarter after his hand was punched from behind by an opponent in a marking contest.

Cats centre half-back Harry Taylor was in heaven today, surrounded by planes of all makes and models at the Avalon International Airshow.

DEFENDER Harry Taylor says winning the NAB Cup would send a clear message to the AFL: beware Geelong.