DEMON defender and former Cat Denby Taylor will return to the top level of the sport, 1281 days after she last took her place on an AFLW field.
The former second-round draftee played 18 senior games in Geelong’s blue and white hoops from 2019 to 2021 before deciding to step away from the sport for the 2022 season.
A talented young gun who was named to the TAC Cup team of the year twice as a junior footballer, Taylor battled injury across her three-year AFLW career but showed plenty of potential with her neat-ball use and dash from defence.
The 170cm medium defender returned to football this year for Geelong’s VFLW side, catching the eye of Melbourne recruiting staff with five matches for the Cats.
Aimee Mackin’s ACL injury playing Gaelic Football in Ireland during May opened a spot on the Melbourne list and gave Taylor her second chance at the top level.
Taylor signed with the club on the eve of the pre-season and is now poised to make her mark in red and blue.