Who is Sam Taylor? All-Australian defender commits future to GWS Giants with new 7-year contract 

All-Australian defender Sam Taylor has signed a seven-year deal that would keep him with the GWS Giants until at least the end of 2032.

On behalf of the GWS Giants, executive general manager Jason McCartney announced the 25-year-old’s contract extension on Monday (June 3). He said in a statement:

“Sam is a generational talent and has already proven himself as one of the best defenders in the competition in his career so far. He’s already an All Australian, club champion and leader of our club and is continually focused on bettering himself, so we can’t wait to see where his career at the club takes him. His commitment is a fantastic endorsement of our football program under Adam Kingsley and Toby Greene and we’re excited for the future.”

Right after signing his extension, Taylor joined the AFL 360 desk to tell Gerard Whateley and Mark Robinson how natural the decision to remain with the GWS Giants came to him. He said:

“The Giants are a great club, I’m surrounded by good people and this is where I want to be... The club came to my manager early in the season and started discussing it. I was pretty happy to make a call early, I didn’t want to stress about it too much.”

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GWS Giants All-Australian defender had multiple rival clubs interested in him

AFL Rd 10 - GWS v Western Bulldogs

GWS Giants club champion defender Sam Taylor confirmed at the ALF 360 desk that quite a number of rival clubs had interest in his signature. He revealed that despite the kindly reception his management got, he remained steadfast in his decision to stick with the Giants. He said:

“I didn’t really want to entertain that [rival interest] either”

Due to a hamstring injury last year, Taylor’s road to earning his second All-Australian honors was cut short. This season he looks to be back on track to taking a stance as one of the league’s most remarkable defenders.

The West Australian holds the league’s top position for possession gains (9.1), ranks second for intercept marks (4.4), and one-on-one defensive contests (lost only 12%).

Taylor disclosed that the offers the rival clubs made might have been monetarily very attractive, but his priority remains winning a flag which the GWS Giants provide the right environment for. He said:

“My main goal is to win a premiership and with the players we’ve got at the moment (in the GWS Giants), we can achieve that. I probably would’ve been offered more at other clubs, but the group we have and the players we need to keep … hopefully we create a culture where players want to be here and I think we’re on that track.”