Tayla Thorn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tayla Thorn |
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Thorn playing for Southern Districts in November 2019
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| Personal information | |||
| Nickname(s) | Thorny | ||
| Date of birth | 31 May 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Darwin, Northern Territory | ||
| Original team | Southern District (NTFL) | ||
| Draft | No. 90, 2016 AFL Women's draft | ||
| Debut | Round 1, 2017, Adelaide v. Greater Western Sydney, at Thebarton Oval |
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| Position(s) | Utility | ||
| Career highlights | |||
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Junior
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Tayla Thorn, born on May 31, 1998, is an Australian rules football player. She played for the Adelaide and Gold Coast teams in the AFL Women's (AFLW) league.
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Tayla's Early Life and Football Beginnings
Tayla was born in Darwin, Northern Territory. She comes from an Indigenous Australian family, specifically the Iwaidja people. She grew up in a small town called Humpty Doo. There, she played football with her cousin, Nakia Cockatoo, and other friends.
Tayla was the captain of the very first Indigenous Northern Territory representative team. She also won a "best and fairest" award at her home club, St Mary's. In September 2016, Tayla was one of only two players from the Northern Territory chosen for a special women's all-star game. She played for Melbourne in this game. In the same year, she was named in the Youth Girls All-Stars Team, which is a big honor for young players.
Tayla's AFL Women's Career
Playing for Adelaide
Tayla was chosen by the Adelaide Crows in the 2016 AFL Women's draft. She was the twelfth player picked by the club. Before this, Tayla had moved to Melbourne to study accounting. She then returned to Darwin to join the group of Adelaide players from her area.
Tayla was the youngest player on the Crows' first-ever AFLW team. She played her first game in Round 1 of the 2017 season. This was the club's very first match, and they played against Greater Western Sydney.
In her first game, Tayla played in the ruck and defence positions. In Round 2, she did a great job tagging (closely guarding) a star player from the Western Bulldogs, Katie Brennan. This really impressed the club.
Tayla missed Round 5, but she came back in Round 6. She played against Melbourne in front of her home crowd at TIO Stadium in Darwin. Even though she missed two games, she was one of the top players in the league for making tackles. After the 2017 season, Tayla was not re-signed by the Crows.
Playing for Gold Coast
In August 2019, Tayla signed with a new team, the Gold Coast Suns. This team was just starting up in the AFLW. After playing for one season with the Suns, she was delisted, meaning her contract was not renewed.
Tayla's Life Outside Football
Tayla comes from a very large family. She has seventeen sisters! Tayla was also featured in a documentary called League of Her Own. This show was shown all over Australia on the Seven Network.
As of March 2017, Tayla works as an administrator for AFL Northern Territory. She works at the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre. This center is a big sports facility where the Crows team trains in Darwin. It is also an important educational center for indigenous Australians.
