Harry Taylor has seen and done it all – 12 seasons at the top level, two flags and 10 finals campaigns.
For Taylor, that doesn’t mean the pre-match nerves or the sting of a loss are any less real.
In his own unique and systematic way, the savvy veteran has learned how to deal with the pressures of football.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of the club’s clash with Collingwood, Taylor offered insight into what makes him tick.
On Nerves
“I still get nervous. I do for most games to be honest. I try to really stay as calm as I can and really just focus on clearing my conscience,” he says.
“I’m one that thinks a lot. In my down time when I’m just cruising in my car my mind’s always just thinking and wandering, going over things. I’m really conscious of that and just try to fight that instinct a little bit.
“I remind myself to be calm and try not to drift off too much and just clear my head of any thoughts that aren’t going to help me play any better on the weekend.”
On Losing
“That feeling when you’re in your locker, your hands just buried in your face, it’s a pretty good motivation to make sure you do all your preparation as well as you can to not have that feeling too many times,” he says.
“The loss last year, the losses before that, the wins going back before that, all of the work throughout the season – if you look at it the right way and learn from all those experiences it sets you up to be better prepared for the next big moment.
“Whether we win or lose it’s hard at times, but you want to review that as hard as you normally would, learn from it, what would I do in this situation, process that information and store it away because at some point in time you might need it again.
“I just purely try to look at that game in isolation - not reflect too much on what happened before and what's going to happen in the future."
On Challenges
“I’m just excited about the challenge the game presents at the best of times,” Taylor says.
“That’s why I love coming to work, love training and love doing all the pre-season. The challenge and enjoyment I get from trying to reach certain goals.
“The big games you just really enjoy the intensity, the pressure, all those things that absolutely test you as an individual and test you as a team. That’s what motivates me and is one thing I’m really going to miss when I leave the game.
“Finals is the same, but it’s done in a bigger and more intense environment. Those moments are the things I will cherish when I finish my career.”
On Leadership
"The message that I would try to say to any of the young guys and our senior guys - just keep it as simple as you possibly can because finals are predictable, the game does become a bit more simpler,” he says.
“Back in the fundamentals that got you to this place in the first place.
"You don't need to do anything else different, you just need to be able to do that under a bit more pressure.
"It's just a lot more people watching and yelling and screaming and there is a lot more on the line. But as soon as you focus on that or the outcome or the result, you're not going to play your absolute best."
On Injury
“It’s great to be healthy. I remember sitting here last year at times in this room and speaking to people and not being in a really good place physically.
“Physically I just wasn’t able to do the things my body was used to doing, and that’s getting up and running around and playing with real freedom.
“That process that I really stick to was really inhibited a little bit in some way. There was always this pain factor that was worrying me and weighing me down a little bit.
“My foot is feeling great and I’m much healthier from a physical point of view so as I said I’m just backing the fundamentals.
