Tayla Thorn

Tayla Thorn (born 31 May 1998) is an Australian rules footballer who played for Adelaide and Gold Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

Tayla Thorn
Thorn playing for Southern Districts in November 2019
Personal information
Nickname(s) Thorny
Date of birth (1998-05-31) 31 May 1998[1][2]
Place of birth Darwin, Northern Territory
Original team(s) Southern District (NTFL)
Draft No. 90, 2016 AFL Women's draft
Debut Round 1, 2017, Adelaide
vs. Greater Western Sydney, at Thebarton Oval
Height 174 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight <67kg>
Position(s) Utility
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2017 Adelaide 5 (0)
2020 Gold Coast 3 (0)
Total 8 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2020 season.
Career highlights

Junior

  • Northern Territory Under-18 captain[3]
  • AFL Youth Girls All Star[2]
Source: AustralianFootball.com

Early life

Thorn was raised in Darwin, Northern Territory to a family of Indigenous Australian (Iwaidja) descent.[4] She was captain of the first Indigenous Northern Territory representative side, and won a "best and fairest" award at her home club, St Mary’s. In September 2016, Thorn was one of only two Northern Territory players selected in the women's all star exhibition match at the Whitten Oval, when she played for Melbourne.[5] That same year, she was named in the Youth Girls All-Stars Team.[2]

AFL Women's career

Adelaide

Thorn was drafted by Adelaide with the club's twelfth pick in the 2016 AFL Women's draft.[6] Thorn had previously moved to Melbourne to study accounting, and returned to the Top End to join the Darwin group of Adelaide players. She was the youngest player in the Crows' inaugural AFLW team.[7] Thorn made her debut in the club's inaugural match, in round 1 of 2017 against Greater Western Sydney. After playing in ruck and defence in her debut,[8] she impressed the club with her effective tagging against Western Bulldogs marquee player Katie Brennan in round 2.[9] Thorn was omitted in round 5, but returned in round 6 to play against Melbourne in front of her home crowd at TIO Stadium in Darwin.[10] Despite missing two rounds, she was one of the leading tacklers in the league.[3] Thorn was not re-signed during the 2017 trade period.[11]

Gold Coast

In August 2019 she signed with the next expansion team, Gold Coast.[12] At the end of the season, she was delisted.[13]

Personal life

Thorn is from the small town of Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory. She has a large family, including seventeen sisters.[7] Thorn was featured in a documentary, League of Her Own, telecast nationally by the Seven Network.[8] As of March 2017, she works as an administrator for AFL Northern Territory at the Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre. The Michael Long Learning and Leadership Centre is a major sports facility where the Crows train in Darwin, and is also a notable educational centre for indigenous Australians.[7]

References
  1. "Tayla Thorn - Player Bio". Australian Football. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  2. "Player profiles". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  3. Kurdas, Chyloe (6 March 2017). "AFLW sees a wave of young stars coming through". ESPN. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  4. "AFL Players' Indigenous Map 2017" (PDF). aflplayers.com.au. AFL Players' Association. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  5. "Female stars under lights". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  6. Marsden, Matt (14 October 2016). "Meet all 145 members of the AFL Women's Draft class of 2016". Girls Play Footy. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  7. Conion, Matilda (9 March 2017). "AFLW: History at home for Thorn - AFC.com.au". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  8. McGowan, Marc (8 February 2017). "Darwin teen Tayla Thorn rapt to be part of successful Adelaide Crows women's team". NT News. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  9. Gill, Katrina (11 February 2017). "What we learned: AFLW R2 - AFC.com.au". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  10. Gill, Katrina (9 March 2017). "AFLW: Thorn into side". afc.com.au. Adelaide Football Club. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  11. McGowan, Marc (25 May 2017). "Crows lock away AFLW stars to new deals - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  12. "Tayla Thorn signs with Suns". goldcoastfc.com.au. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  13. "SUNS farewell five AFLW players". Gold Coast FC. Telstra Media. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
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