Taylor Adams, former Collingwood vice-captain, makes a heartbreaking statement regarding his 2023 exit.
‘I was really disappointed.’
Taylor Adams, the new Sydney Swan, has spoken openly about his heartbreaking departure from Collingwood last year.
Adams was upset after missing the Magpies’ 2023 grand final triumph (due to a hamstring injury) and was distraught following the game.
However, the former vice-captain has claimed that there was more “hurt” to come, as well as dissatisfaction during the year.
Speaking on the Unlaced podcast, Adams stated that there was a “lack of transparency” throughout the season, which culminated in an unconvincing end-of-year meeting with coach Craig McRae to discuss the future.
“I was pretty disappointed by the feedback and the transparency that I got from Collingwood throughout the year,” Adams stated.
“In a nice way, they phased me out and it felt a lot like that.”
He stated that he ended up meeting with Sydney coach John Longmire in a very open one-on-one.
“(I told Longmire), ‘Look, my preferred route is to not move but I’ve got to make a decision in my head because footy doesn’t last forever and I feel like I’ve got some more to offer’,” Adams explained.
“I then met with ‘Wrighty’ (Collingwood football manager Graeme Wright) and ‘Fly’ (McRae) on Thursday, and ‘Fly’ basically said, ‘Nothing is going to really change next year, we think you do a great job in the role that you’re playing.'”
“And I thought, to be honest, he was blowing wind up my arse.”
Adams stated that he then had to make a decision, but the lack of communication from McRae was disheartening.
“I actually didn’t hear from ‘Fly’ at all again which hurt me,” he stated.
“He should have contacted me and had the difficult chat, but I understand why he didn’t; he had just won a flag, had a kid, and there was a lot going on.
“I don’t have any hard feelings about it.”
However, Adams confessed he felt deceived by his soft-tissue injury, which cost him a premiership medal.
“You have got to be able to put everything into perspective but in terms of my football career and my whole life, that month was from when I got injured to missing out and having to deal with the emotions of that, that was the most difficult period of my life,” he stated.
“I felt slightly cheated.
“I looked for explanations why, but I couldn’t figure out why it happened this time. To play every game except for a suspension and yet fall short two weeks before the finals and miss out on the grand prize… I needed five additional days.
“I wasn’t going to run out there and test my hammy on the final day. You just know I was wrong. There was no way I was putting a team at risk.”
Adams said in December last year that missing the grand final was heartbreaking.
“I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over that … it’s not just me, it’s my family, my support network, people at the footy club who put so much time and effort in and then you fall one hurdle short,” he said in a press conference.
“It’s heartbreaking … and it was so bittersweet because there were so many people at the footy club who I’ve been side-by-side with for 10 or so years who I knew deserved it, and I was extremely happy for them, but you just want to be a part of it.”
The 30-year-old is now about to face his original club, the GWS Giants, in what is expected to be a thrilling Sydney derby on Saturday.
And he also shed light on his departure from the Giants at the end of 2013, which involved AFL legend Lance Franklin.
Franklin was being pursued by both the Swans and the Giants, with the Giants offering a massive $7.2 million six-year deal.
Adams believes he was squeezed out by the Giants in order to make place for Franklin, who went on to sign a $10 million contract with the Swans.
“It got to the end of the season in 2013 and I hadn’t really made a decision but the Giants had put a contract on the table early in the year and effectively taken it off,” he explained.
“They had a contract lying there that was half the length and remuneration of the original one. I felt that was weird because I was enjoying a good year.
“I packed my things and travelled to Victoria to conduct research at the major football clubs, then to Geelong for a few meetings before deciding to return to Victoria due to the contract status.
“The coach was Leon Cameron, and he said, ‘We have sent you a new contract; can you renew it?’ It returned to its original state. It was a highly competitive deal.
“And anyway, I told Leon, ‘I think I’ve made my decision.'” I want to go to Collingwood,” and we had it out, not nasty, but as a coach, he didn’t want players walking out the door.
“I logged onto Twitter 15 minutes later, and the Buddy Franklin announcement had occurred. So the Giants actually offloaded some of us young men to make room for Buddy, and I was like, ‘I would get go of myself and five others if I could get Buddy’.”
